A Blessed Kiss by Death
by broken.empty.doll
Summary: Summary Change: A heiress, an unfortunate death, a rebirth, the Shinigami, and a bunch of swearing. AU Naruto OC story. (Swearing gets heavy, slow burner)
1. A Very Eventful Birthday

_Chapter One:_

**We had scarcely sat down to rest when darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a closed room. You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men. Many besought the aid of the gods, but still more imagined there were no gods left, and that the universe was plunged into eternal darkness for evermore.**

-Pliny the Younger

* * *

Between the land of fire and the land of wind, there lies a canyon which no shinobi dared to enter. Rumors surrounded the canyon. Some said that the canyon was the playground for the dead souls of criminals. Others said that the canyon was really the place for the Kami. Little did the rest of the world know that in the very bottom of the deep canyon lied a hidden village. The village rested in what those who lived in the canyon named the valley of shadows.

The valley of the shadows rarely saw the light of the sun or the shine of the moon. The canyon was so large that the valley was indeed always dark. And because of the darkness, some of the rumors were true. The valley was filled with demons and restless spirits. The Shinigami's pets even roamed the land, free to prey on any fools who entered the valley. There were never really any prey for the demons, that is until the village was made.

The name of the village was the village of death or Shi No Mura. The village was named this mainly because of its past. The village first came to be when large groups of S-ranked criminals and shunned ninja clans fled for their lives. Everyone who entered the canyon, entered with the knowledge that they may have been walking to their death. But somehow some did survive and they went on to make a hidden shinobi village. When the village was first founded, the people who fled to the valley, were plagued with sickness, famine, and attacks from the demons. Until a one family rose up and brought peace to the land.

That family was named the Marusame. The time of peace continued for years and no clan questioned the Marusame's word or authority. The Marusame were a powerful clan with a bloodline ability to protect the large village. Their bloodline limit was known as blue fire. Blue fire was mix between fire and lightning and could decapitate a person while burning and cauterizing the wound at the same time. The village was protected with three large rings of blue fire.

For many years the Marusame clan ruled, but like all villages, another family wished to rule. The family that raised questions was named the Okinawa clan. Though just as powerful as the Marusame clan, they were cruel and showed no mercy or regard for those weaker than themselves. The Okinawa began making plans to overthrow the Marusame clan. They began a five year plan, when the clan heiress was born. This is the story of her life.

* * *

A young bright-eyed girl walked around the living room, anticipating the day that was to come. It was early and the sun was yet to rise. Today was the day that the little girl turned 5 and as clan heiress, was to be formally introduced to her people. The girl was seen as a princess in the eyes of the villagers, but she never looked upon them with eyes that saw subjects. No, the young girl was a prodigy and she saw the villagers as her equals. She saw the villagers as precious people she had to protect.

The sunlight which rarely showed itself in the valley, peaked through the opened window and revealed the young girl. The girl had hair which was dark as the valley itself. Her eyes were a dark gray not yet black, and though filled with curiosity, held an air of self-knowledge and dignity. Beneath the simple dark blue kimono, her pale white delicate body showed the strength of training she had started just a year ago.

The girl sighed as she turned from the window to peer down the hall. Her parents were due to be up at any moment. She had no doubt that they would begin the day with their normal routine of stretching and chakra control. Then mother would demand that her father bring her in, so she may, "get some meat on her skinny bones." Later she would prepare for any meetings or lessons, all while trying to appear to have total control of her emotions. The girl turned back to the window to see that the sunlight had faded back into darkness, and she sighed once again.

"If you keep doing that you're going to develop wrinkles" a soothing voice chimed from behind her. The girl masked her displeasure of being teased behind a blank face and turned to face her mother. The woman was tall and already dressed in her green kimono. Her blond hair was kept in place by a bun at the nape of her neck. Her green-gray eyes looked upon her daughter with all the affection of a mother. The woman was astonishingly beautiful, but even more so when she looked upon her only child.

"Forgive me mother" the girl replied her voice like bells contrasting wildly with her blank face, "I was merely thinking about today's schedule of events."

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot that today was your birthday," her mother said with a face of faux-realization. The girl fully knew that her mother would never forget what today was, she had merely planned the entire day full of events.

"Yes, today is the day I will be introduced to the village" the girl said a slight smile lighting her angelic features. "I am really looking forward to meeting everyone, though I must admit I am quite nervous".

"You will do great Keiko. For you are the blessings to our family and a blessing to all of the village" her mother said softly coming to her daughter's side. She rested a hand on the girl's shoulder and both turned to peer out the window at the rows of houses their compound overlooked. The village was large and contained almost a thousand people. Though it was small compared to everywhere else, the village was large in the demon-filled land.

"I see you both are already worrying about today" said the male voice behind them which held both authority and a kind air. The women turned to face him. Keiko's father was dressed as always in his black yukata. His hair resembled that of Keiko's and hung down his back pulled together by a band. His blue eyes looked to his wife's and he smiled happily. Keiko's mother released her hand from her daughter's shoulder and moved to her husband.

"Would you like fish for breakfast? The caravan brought some back yesterday," her mother asked her father.

"Only after training. Keiko still has a long way to go" her father replied blandly.

"You are going to train her even today dear? I thought it would be best if we ate and then moved on to greeting the village?" her mother said with slight surprise in her voice.

"No, today she will be introduced but she should not stray from her routine. A solid routine makes a good man, but a—"

"But a never-ceasing routine makes the strongest of them all" Keiko interrupted, her face holding a child-like smile for saying this before her father.

"There is my small blessing" her father endearing said. He began to walk to her but not without gently caressing his wife's hand. He would never want her to be angered by him. In all honesty she was one to be feared when enraged.

Keiko looked up at her father, gray orbs watching blue ones. Her father then reached for her hand, and clasped it in his. They walked out the door beyond the kitchen and out into the patio. The vegetation even though never seeing light, was green. The land before them was a mix of rock and moss with poles holding oil-lanterns for light. Keiko's father led them to an open area enclosed by a wood fence and released her hand.

They, as Keiko had thought ran through series of stretches, facing the way of the town. She had once asked her father why they faced the town and he replied, 'so we may always be open to our people'. She found this sensible and when she did any activity she made sure her back was never to the town. Next Keiko was trained in chakra control. She was to gather chakra to her body, then focus it on certain parts. First her feet, then her legs, then her hands. When she had the chakra in her hands she willed it to become blue fire.

All the while her father watched her with loving eyes. He sometimes spoke to her how when she became older she would be able to sustain the flames for longer or how even he at this age was not as equipped as she. She was a prodigy. She had the innate ability to create blue fire without hand signs. In addition to that, her chakra reserves were much larger than a child her age. In all reality she should have never been born. Her mother was tested to be infertile, and even when Keiko was miraculously born she was several weeks early.

Keiko was a blessing.

After her exercises, the family gathered for a simple breakfast of rice, porridge, vegetables and fish. Keiko could feel herself becoming nervous all throughout breakfast. In only an hour she was to be introduced to the village. Her mother could see this and laid a soft hand on her head.

"You will be fine" she said soothingly, "the village is excited to see you, there is no need to be scared. "

"I am not scared" Keiko replied with a slight pout. The girl catching her façade being dropped schooled her features into her pleasantly blank face. She knew the importance of seeming without emotions. She knew which situations called for a smile, some for a grimace, and some for a teary-eyed look. The girl was aged well beyond what her body showed. Keiko could say that it was mainly a consequence of her being bed-ridden since a year ago. Lessons in politics and writings the only things she was able to do.

"Of course not dear" her father said with a knowing smile.

The rest of the breakfast was eaten in a comfortable silence. Keiko finished her food and looked to the clock on the wall. Ten minutes until she was to appear outside the fence, outside the gate, outside the only place she had known for five years.

Her mother then got up and called for her follow her to the bedroom. When Keiko walked into the room, she noticed was as clean as always. Their classic Japanese style wood home was always spotless, but her parent's room at the moment, was immaculate.

"I wanted to give this to you before you were introduced" her mother said, her back turned opening the small drawer in the nightstand by the bed. "It was your father's mother's gift to me when we were married. Though I could have waited until you took your vows, I wanted to give it to you now."

Her mother took out a small silver box. It was a plain little thing, Keiko noted slightly. But her mother opened it to show the most beautiful piece Keiko had laid her eyes on. It was a silver hair comb and shone with all the beauty of a diamond. In the center was a sapphire the size of a grape. The sapphire was then accompanied by a row of small rubies. The piece itself seemed too beautiful for anyone to wear.

"Mother, it is beautiful" Keiko said quietly, the amazement of the piece not being hidden in her voice. "Thank you so much."

"You deserve this Keiko, for you are my blessing, and this is my gift to you" her mother smiled upon her daughter. She then turned and gestured for her daughter to sit at the small vanity mirror across the room. Eagerly Keiko walked and plopped on the chair. She was filled with happiness as her mother moved her hands through the young girl's hair. When her mother was done, Keiko's hair was in a simple bun with the comb on the right side.

"My do you look beautiful, Keiko" her father said from the doorway. He looked as if he were about to cry, but appeared to keep it in for the sake of his reputation.

"Thank you father" Keiko replied softly still mesmerized with the girl in the mirror. The girl in the mirror did not show any signs of nervousness, but excitement. The girl was beautiful.

"It is time" her father replied as Keiko rose from the chair and beamed to her mother. Keiko then took her mother's hand and followed them out the bedroom and through the house. The emerged on the same patio and paused before the wooden fence which concealed their home.

"Are you ready Keiko?" her mother asked gently squeezing her hand.

"Yes mother" Keiko replied schooling her features into those of a pleasant smile. The smile was certainly not forced, and showed true happiness.

With that, her father opened the door and stepped outside. Keiko followed still clutching her mother's hand and gazed for the first time upon her village. The sight was one to behold. Houses could be seen for what seemed like miles, a little below them, her vision was filled with all sorts of colors; some houses had red roofs while others had green, but all the walls were a creamy white. Oil-lanterns filled the streets with beautifully shadowed light. The streets themselves were filled with people. They all looked upon Keiko with eager and shining faces, smiles gracing all their features.

Keiko was startled when the people began to cheer. She covered her surprised face and allowed a large smile to grace her features. The people cheered even louder. After a few moments her father raised his hand. The villagers immediately stopped, and grinned at their leader.

"I want to thank all of you for coming today" her father spoke with authority and genuine thanks, "I would like to present my heiress and beautiful blessing, Keiko. May today be a day of celebration."

When he ended the crowd immediately went back to cheering for their leader and his family. Keiko was so happy words could never begin to express her love for her people. She looked up to her mother, whose beauty outshone even the brightest of flames, and then looked at her father, whose authority held so much respect and kindness. 'These are my people' Keiko thought. And right then she vowed to always protect them, even if it cost her, her life.

Then just as the crowd's roar began to dwindle a howl was heard. A flash of blue light shot through the air. The people's cheers became screams. Another blue light shot through the air, and Keiko turned to her father. For a heartbeat she prayed that the third and last barrier would hold and keep the demons from entering the village, but it was not so. Just as her mother turned and tugged Keiko so that she may be sealed within the fence, another blue flash surged through the air.

Her mother threw her within the fence, and Keiko fell to the ground. Her mother than proceeded to shut the girl inside. An invasion had begun.

"This isn't happening," Keiko said to herself, as she began to hear demons massacre her people.

Keiko couldn't begin to understand what was going on. She was staring at the wooden fence without comprehending what she was really seeing. Demons had entered the village. Demons hadn't entered the village for hundreds of years. 'How were they able to enter the village now? It was impossible for the rings to be disarmed from the outside. Therefore someone from the village let the wards fall' Keiko realized slowly.

People's screams could be heard outside the magical fence. Keiko's parents must be attempting to protect the village. The young heiress knew that her parents were extremely capable shinobi, but for them to defeat a hoard of demons. Besides most of the villagers could hold their own in a fight. But these were **demons**, and demons were almost invincible.

"Who would do such a thing," Keiko muttered to herself. The girl rose to her feet, noticing the blood on her hand where she landed when her mother threw her. "Please, Kami-samas, keep my people safe." The girl knew that the gods had long ago abandoned the valley to the demons. But it was worth a try and her small voice wanted the Kami to take pity.

The screams began to dwindle. Over the fence she could see flashes of blue flames and she realized the battle was coming to a close. The girl sat in silence looking at the fence and awaiting her parents' return. The morning was silent for some time and the girl waited anxiously, the oil-lanterns casting a shadowed glow over her body.

The battle must have taken only ten minutes, when the wooden door opened. Keiko, who had sat back down, stood quickly almost losing her footing and warily gathering blue fire to her hands. But the door revealed her parents clutching one another. They passed quickly through the gate and some other men followed them in. There were about three men, Keiko noted hurriedly, all from what she assumed was the Okinawa clan. The three men each bore a tattoo on their right cheek the shape of a five pointed-star. Keiko ran to her parents, relief washing over her.

"Mother, Father," Keiko acknowledged merely a foot away and looking up at them. Her parents looked wearily down at her. Her father's clean yukata was ripped and he bore a deep cut along his chest. Her mother on the other hand, had blood of her victims on her face and her kimono was only dirtied. Keiko schooled her face into her façade and looked blankly at the Okinawa men who quietly shut the gate. She turned back to her mother, realization that they were alive washing over her.

"Keiko, are you alright?" her mother asked softly when the girl buried her face in her legs. The girl raised her head and looked at her mother with a questioning look.

"Yes mother, now that I know you are alright, I will be fine. But how are the villagers faring?" Keiko actually wanted to blurt out who let the wards down, but felt that the matter would be better discussed from prying ears.

"The demons have been taken care of, they ran off after we defeated a few," said a rough voice of the largest Okinawa men. Keiko not liking he butted into her mothers and hers conversation merely looked at him blankly.

"And I assume that some of the villagers were killed in the exchange. How many losses did we suffer?" Keiko asked the man in a voice well beyond her years. He gave her a grin one would use looking at a child playing dress-up. Keiko glared coldly at the man when he didn't answer. She did not like to be ignored, especially now of all circumstances.

"We lost maybe fifty people, another fifty wounded" her father said softly, as if afraid that his words would strike her. "The demons were Okamiyasha, and the pack suffered some loses." Keiko knew immediately why the howl was so significant. It was from the pack of demon wolves. But why would they howl before the ward fell. The demons would not have known that they could battle, unless they were foretold.

Keiko nodded and moved so her parents could make their way to the house. They were both weary from expending so much chakra in such little time. Keiko looked at the Okinawa men and stood before them. She gazed upon each of them, taking in what she could. The largest was around forty and dressed in all black shinobi clothing—black mesh top, black loose pants with bandages on the ankles, and black open-toed sandals. He wore a katana at his back and appeared to be unscathed. It would appear he had not just been in a battle had it not been for the dirt smudged along his face. The other two, younger than the first appeared to be around twenty, were dressed similarly except in a dark red. They both wore weapons pouches on each leg and katanas on their backs.

"Well aren't you going to invite us in little girl?" the largest said, a large grin on his face. Keiko was not amused by his words. People normally never entered the protected fence, let alone their home. She also did not like the way these men dressed. They dressed for battle, though a battle was not supposed to be close to anything which happened today.

"Customarily, one would exchange names before entering someone's home" Keiko replied dryly. The man's large grin appeared to grow while Keiko's glare hardened.

"Forgive us for this, Heiress, I am the head of the Okinawa clan Dai, and these are my two sons, Keiichi and Keiji" the leader spoke, the grin never leaving his large face and further accentuating the star on his cheek. 'I am beginning to resent this man' Keiko thought blandly. The sons looked upon her with blank faces. 'The sons, I can handle' thought the young girl.

"Very well, welcome to my home Okinawa-sama. I hope that it will suit your liking," Keiko bowed slowly some hair that came loose from its bun falling into her face. The clan leader chuckled and bowed slightly back to the young girl. Her parents who looked out from the kitchen window were pleased with her actions. They went back to wrapping her father's injuries with slight smiles on their faces.

Keiko then rose and turned to lead her esteemed guests into the house. She did not trust these men, but her parents allowed them to enter the gates and she would not go against her parents' decisions. The men followed the small girl into the house their steps not loud at all for being large men.

Keiko's parents were at the dining table waiting for her. The girl's father already bandaged and looking at the Okinawa leader with somewhat suspicious eyes. The girl then took a seat at the table between her mother and father. The Okinawa men sat across from the Marusame family and an uncomfortable silence filled the air. The large table seemed even larger than usual even though it was filled completely. Keiko once again looked at the Okinawa clan head and felt surprise when she found he was looking at her.

"Okinawa-sama you said you wished to discuss what happened out there. You mentioned you had information about how the wards were disarmed" her father broke the silence with a stern voice. The Okinawa clan head turned his head to meet the young girl's father's eyes. The Okinawa man's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and Keiko felt her father tense at the look.

"We did Marusame-sama" the large men said, the grin returning to his face. Keiko didn't understand. Did he mean he said he held information on who disarmed the wards or did they disarm them? Keiko's mother tensed, thinking exactly the same thing. The older woman then put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. Keiko, was comforted slightly through the sign of affection, but did not lose her blank face.

"Please clarify for us Okinawa-sama," her father said tersely, hoping it wasn't the worst.

"We disarmed the puny wards of yours and allowed the demons into the village. Though the deal was that they were to kill you three then leave once we 'defeated' them, but obviously that plan failed" said the clan leader. His grin now turned into a disappointed face. He turned his now cold eyes onto Keiko and he saw her tense. 'She has good reason to be frightened' he thought triumphantly as Keiko remained staring at him with that blank face he hated so much.

"What is the meaning of this," Keiko mother practically growled. The woman kept one hand under the table bringing a kunai out of her hidden weapons pouch. Keiko knew she should prepare herself and quietly brought blue fire from her hands. The Okinawa sons then tensed and Keiko noticed they reached for their katanas. 'This isn't the best of situations' thought Keiko grimly, 'mother and father are still not recovered and the Okinawa aren't the easiest of people to defeat'.

The Okinawa leader rose and pulled his katana from its scabbard while saying, "Oh, the meaning of this is that you have served long enough. You see, the village, is weak because of you. Because of your kindness, the village has become soft. We should have exterminated those demons years ago. But you need not worry about that anymore, because you won't be here anymore, but something like six feet under."

The leader flipped the table over while Keiko's mother grabbed the young girl and jumped back. The Marusame clan leader pushed the table back into the Okinawa men's faces, though they already moved. The table crashed through the paper doors of the back door, while the two clan leaders moved fast. Metal crashed with metal. Keiko's mother once again pushed Keiko to safety, this time into the kitchen.

The woman then turned to face the two Okinawa sons. Both of them already had drawn their katanas and leapt at Keiko's mother. Metal once again clashed with metal. Keiko didn't know what to do. She didn't want her family to be slaughtered right in front of her, but she knew she wasn't anywhere near strong enough to help her parents. She closed her eyes for a heartbeat and willed the tears back. When she opened them she saw her father was holding a kunai alight with blue fire. He and the Okinawa head were already breathing hard—her father from exhaustion and the large man from a cut to his stomach which was bleeding profusely.

Her father lunged forward with the blue kunai, as the large men deflected it with his katana. Keiko's eyes widened as she saw the kunai cut through katana, the kunai powerful while filled with her family's bloodline limit. She didn't avert her eyes as she say her father knock the broken katana out of the larger man's hand. She didn't even blink when she saw her father grab him and slit his throat, blue fire from the kunai enhancing the power. The Okinawa leader's head merely fell to the ground with a thud.

Keiko averted her eyes then, but with the purpose of looking to her mother's fight. She turned just as the younger boy severed her mother's head from her body. Keiko screamed. She was frightened. But soon enough the fear turned to anger as she saw the older boy kick her mother's fallen body.

'Mom wasn't strong enough. Mom wasn't strong enough. Mom wasn't strong enough' the mantra going through Keiko's head over and over. Keiko was in shock. She couldn't help it. She curled into a ball edging herself into the corner of the kitchen, trying to escape this nightmare.

Her father then jumped at the two men, eyes burning with hatred. The men were ready for his blue fire. They reinforced their katanas with wind and met the Okinawa man's blows. Keiko watched the scene play out. Her father matching blows with the two, too weak to actually finish them off. The exchange lasted longer than expected. Keiko sitting in her corner, wide eyes filled with fear and anger, though it took another ten minutes for her father to finally land a death blow on the younger Okinawa brother.

The Marusame clan head constructing blue fire to make the blade of the kunai longer. He finally sunk it into the heart of the younger brother. The younger stared with fearful eyes as he slumped, having taken his last breath. Her father pulled another kunai out to block the other brother. But the metal of the katana split the kunai. Her father hadn't reinforced the new kunai with blue fire. He was too drained of chakra from the finishing blow he previously dealt.

Keiko watched as the katana severed her father's head. The head fell to the ground with a plop and rolled next to his wife's head. Both pairs of lifeless eyes stared at Keiko. But Keiko couldn't look away. She willed for herself to wake up. She willed for the nightmare to be over. The oldest Okinawa boy stepped over the dead bodies and made his way to Keiko. He sheathed his katana and then knelt down before her.

Keiko willed herself to become calm, but the feeling never came. She was too scared for that, so she settled for a mild glare at the man. He put his face inches from hers and grinned psychotically. The young girl continued to glare, hoping that he would end her quickly.

"So arrogant for having seen your parents cut down before you. Tell me why are you so stubborn? Why don't you begin to plead with me for your life, eh?" he asked the girl. His voice was like satin and made the any person bow down to him. Keiko forced herself not to tremble and glared harder at the man.

"What is the use in pleading? You would kill me anyways. At least now I will die with my dignity" she said boldly.

The man chuckled darkly, then reached for her. Keiko didn't try to move away from him. She resigned herself to death, so she may be with her parents. The man then cradled her in his arms and held her close to his body. Keiko looked into his eyes, blue as the sky in paintings of the outside world she noted, and held a questioning look. He stood and walked over the bodies which littered her home and out the door. Keiko wondered where he was taking her as he crossed the patio and made his way to the wooden door of the fence.

He opened the door and Keiko looked out. No one was in the streets and the village was silent as death itself. The man then jumped down from the girl's home and ran lightly on the tops of the roofs. Keiko noticed that he was leading her to the exit of the village. This realization made Keiko struggle in his arms. He further tightened his hold which made Keiko gather chakra in her hands. She then stopped and turned to the man. She laid a small hand on his cheek, opposite the star.

"Like what you see girli—"he never finished for Keiko lit her hand with blue fire and burned an imprint of her hand on his face. He then screamed and dropped the young heiress. Keiko fell off the roof but reinforced her legs with chakra so the impact wouldn't hurt. She then took off running in the opposite direction, towards home.

'If I could get home, I could seal myself inside' she thought quickly. Through the empty streets a ball of dark blue ran home. The shadows seemingly dancing while the girl darted down streets in the direction of home. Keiko could see the fence which would save her when she was knocked down from behind. She fell with great impact and turned to the Okinawa heir. He proceeded then to backhand her right cheek. She could see his face alight with fury and the fresh new scar still sizzling on his cheek. He then took out his kunai and ran it down Keiko's cheek.

The girl screamed. The man was carving into her left cheek. Blood was dropping onto the small girl's kimono. Keiko screamed louder and batted at the man even more. She summoned blue fire but the man then held her hands behind her back and she was too weak to free them. The man finished and Keiko began to see black spots in her sight. She gazed at the bloody kunai and noticed wind around it. 'No wonder it hurt so much' Keiko thought through the haze of pain. 'Why had no one come out to help her?'

"Scream all you want girlie, no one is gonna save you. They all want you dead or they're under a genjutsu" the man replied laughing. Looking at her cheek he smiled at his handiwork. "Now you're just like me. Payback's a real bitch ain't it honey."

For the first time that night Keiko began to cry. Tears flowed freely as the man wretched her up and tied her hands behind her. He once again cradled her and set off towards the exit. Keiko could hardly stay awake. The pain and blood loss made her sleepy and she knew if her face was to bleed some more she would die. She didn't mind the death, but she didn't want to fall asleep while with this man. Therefore Keiko did the only thing that she could do, cauterize the wound. She brought blue fire to her face and bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. The blue fire hurt, but she stopped the bleeding from her torn up face.

The man brought her to the exit and stood before the large stone gate. He pulled out his katana and promptly cut her free. Keiko was then dropped to the ground. Too tired to brace herself, she merely fell in a heap at the man's feet. She made her way to stand up, but the man kicked her. She flew a few feet before clutching her stomach in an attempt to sooth the pain.

"Now girlie, I am gonna let you go, but on one condition you ain't never gonna come back" the man said with an air of humor. He was enjoying this.

"And what if I come back?" Keiko asked in an attempt to anger him enough to kill her.

"Then that scar, ain't gonna be the only thing you get" he replied smoothly. He rose his katana to the girl who was huddled five feet away. Keiko prayed silently that he would just kill her, but he didn't. Instead the man merely cut her in a way which wouldn't kill her if she used the blue fire. Keiko not being able to withstand the pain the new cuts brought on burned them to a close.

When the man was done he grabbed her by the hair and walked out of the village. They walked through three rings. 'They are using wind chakra as new wards' Keiko noted dumbly. She was too tired. Upon exiting the last ring, he threw her to the ground. Again she landed hard and the man laughed at her. She stood and willed herself to put the pain aside. Instead she put her façade on and looked at the Okinawa heir with a blank face. He stopped laughing.

"Stop that" the man said. When Keiko didn't reply, he continued, "Stop with that blank look. I hate that look. You think you are so much better than me. You Marusames always thought you were so much better than us. Now look at you. The last of a dying clan. Stop it! **Stop it now!"**

Keiko merely stared on with her blank look. She kept that look even when the man charged at her katana raised. She kept that look even when he stabbed her in the stomach. She kept that look even when she fell to the ground, body warm with blood. She kept that look when he turned his back on her and returned to the village. She kept that look even when her life was ending and she caught glimpses of dead wolves and a man dressed in foreign clothing. She kept that look even when she closed her eyes and died.

But she most certainly didn't die.


	2. I woke up an Anomaly

_**To die, to sleep -**_

_**To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub,**_

_**For in this sleep of death what dreams may come…**_

_**-William Shakespeare**_

_**All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,**_

_**And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.**_

_**-Walt Whitman **_

* * *

Pain. It was the first thing I felt when I awoke. My cheek ached like it was no longer there. Then I felt like my chest was half gone. What is going on? Where was I? I thought I had died? If this is death, I most certainly wasn't expecting it. I would have thought I would feel nothing, see nothing, even think nothing. Wait, can I see?

Darkness. My eyes are they closed? I need to open my eyes. I willed for my eyes to open and felt as if I was pushing against water. Each time I got close, it slipped through my fingers. I finally got angry and made my eyes open. When they were finally opened I was blinded. White light surrounded me and burned my eyes. I quickly shut them, but convinced myself I had to open them. Was this what sunlight felt like? It hurt, I don't like it very much, I concluded. Slowly but surely I opened my eyes and through the pain began to see again.

White. That was what was all around me. White? This must be the outside. The valley never seemed completely white. There were always shadows and the flames always turned colors darker or creamy. Can I move my body? Wait, can I feel my body? Yes, I could feel my body. Remember it felt like I was on fire, and there was so much pain. The pain? Where did the pain go?

"_It's still there, I just made you a little more unconscious of it."_

Wait. Who was that? That wasn't me, I never thought that. Did someone else say that? Can I even hear? No, the voice sounded as if it was in me. Like it was me, yet it wasn't.

"_You are very correct child. I am, you. But not actual you as yourself."_

What? That is so confusing. Maybe I should just try to open my eyes back up. I closed them when I heard the voice. The room is still white. But it is still not yet a room itself, more like a space of white. Where am I?

"_So many questions young one, so little answers given. We are in the world between worlds. The space which doesn't exist, yet does at the same time." _The voice, is male and somehow, it's soothing, even when it chuckles at my questions. I can trust this voice.

"_Is this what happens when people die? Am I dead_?" I figure if the voice is going to answer questions, I might as well get all the information I can. The voice laughs lightly at my question.

"_You are most certainly not dead. Death brings peace to the body. You are experiencing pain, therefore you are not dead. In addition to that, your mind is not at ease. No, but you did die for a small amount of time."_

"_What do you mean I __**died**__?" _

"_Before I was bonded with you, you died. I was merged with your existence to keep you alive."_

"_Okay, so let me make certain I am clear. I am currently in the world between worlds which doesn't exist but does at the same time."_

"_Yes."_

"_And you, pushed the pain down, so I could not feel it."_

"_Yes."_

"_In addition to all that I also died,"_ I asked, slightly hesitant.

"_Yes,"_ the voice answered.

"_But now I'm alive because you merged with my existence or I guess another word would be soul."_

"_Yes." _

That is a lot to take in. Maybe if I just stay silent, I'll wake up from this coma. This is all just a bad dream. Everything. My birthday has not even happened yet. But why does it feel so real? The pain, that was definitely real. I even feel the slight twinge of pain now, so this has to be real. I stayed quiet for a time, just listening to my own ragged breathing.

"_So, who are you exactly?"_ I asked breaking the eerie calm.

"_I'm a demon spirit." _

"_Oh." _There was a demon spirit inside me?

"_Yes," _the demon says breaking whatever train of thought was going to start.

"_Can you not do that, this is really difficult and I am trying my utmost hardest not to go insane."_

"_Sorry, I couldn't help it."_ Maybe I should go insane. It would be easier to just give up and lose my sanity. But I couldn't go insane. What would my father think of his successor giving up? He would most definitely frown on the decision.

"_So, what kind of demon spirit are you exactly?"_

"_I'm an __Okamiyasha."__ The wolf demon replied amusement, in what I would assume was his voice. Would it count as his voice, even though he is in my head?_

_"Yes,"__ the wolf spirit laughed hysterically, __"for a young girl, you certainly are taking this whole experience extremely well."_

_"I know. I am quite surprised myself. I actually feel like I should be really denying everything that is even happening." __Why am I accepting all of this as fact? I am five years old. I shouldn't have been able to get through all this without being force fed information. Why do I feel—is this how it feels to be older?_

_"Am I older because of this? I feel different, like I know more things."_

_"No, that technically isn't me,"__ the wolf demon replied, his own voice holding some curiosity. _

_"What is your name?"_

_"Soubi."_

_"Mine is Marusame Keiko. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." _

_"I know who you are Keiko. I am one with you,"__ Soubi chuckled at me. _

_"I don't like letting go of formalities,"_ I said plainly. Well, since this has proven to be extremely helpful, I might as well get up. I attempt to get up. My body doesn't feel like my own. I might as well start with a very small movement. Fingers, move, I command you to move. I could feel my fingers move while lightly tingling. The pain in my body is getting more prominent as I feel more of my body. Arms you are next. I move my arms up and rest them next to me.

I push myself up, my vision swirling with spots from the pain. I look around me. Everything is white. I am amazed at the color. I have never seen this kind of white before. The canyon was always shadowed. The white is beautiful, but at the same time the color is discerning. It feels too clean. I turn my head to my right and see a couch. That is what that is? I have never seen one in person before. The couch like everything else in this world is white. I notice I'm laying on the floor. A frown comes onto my face.

"I'm sorry that you're on the floor. You wouldn't stop shifting and I was afraid you would roll off the couch and hurt yourself," a pleasant voice says. The voice I take realize is male, but it isn't in my head. I spin my head around a little too fast and feel nauseous all of a sudden. I clutch my hand to my mouth and wait for the wave of feeling to pass. The pain isn't as prominent but more like a nagging feeling.

When I regain my senses I turn to the voice and see a man. He is tan and older, I suppose he is around forty-five or fifty. He wears strange clothing. It's white like everything else in this place, but isn't yet a kimono or yukata. It reminds me of drapery or even a towel thrown elaborately around him. I look to his feet and see sandals which are covered by the towel which goes down to his feet. I look up again and notice the man is smiling at me.

"What are you wearing?" I ask, curiosity gaining the better of me.

"A toga," the man replied, brown eyes contrasting nicely with his graying blonde hair.

"Toga?" I repeat. The man simply nods and makes his way to me. I gather blue fire to my hands, to be safe. I don't know who this man, but might as well be safe than sorry.

_"You can trust him. He saved us"_ Soubi said in my mind. I disable the fire and look up at the man. He continues to smile down at me. He reminds me of what a grandfather would look like. I never had family besides mom and dad.

"I am sure you have many questions," the man says. I nod my head at him. "Well, to answer the first, I am Boss. I am also what your people in your world would label as a Shinigami. Yes, I did save you. How, would probably be your next question."

"Soubi said that you bonded me with him," I said dryly. This man may have saved me, but I did not know for what purpose. Father always said that to let your guard down would be taking your own blade against you. I will continue to proceed with caution, I decided.

"Yes, well that is absolutely correct. I am glad that you and Soubi are already acquainted. I would ask you to sit on the couch, but, well, your clothes are filthy."

I look down at my clothes and must admit they are disgusting. My then dark blue kimono, looks almost a maroon from all the blood I lost. In addition it is cut in several places revealing the scars from the Okinawa heir. The Okinawa heir, that bastard, killed me. I start to grow enraged.

"How dare that pompous bastard kill me! And to what end? Power? Control of the village? If he wanted more control, I am certain father would have allowed it. And he killed my parents. How dare he lay a hand on us! I am going to kill him with my own hands." I didn't notice until I was out of breath that I said every word out loud. Soubi chuckled at the back of my mind, amused with my rage. I looked back up to see Boss staring at me with a confused look.

"I hope you are done. Because there are many things which I must discuss with you and killing that pompous bastard, as you so phrased it, is not one of them." Boss looked at me a little wary but gives me a small smile.

_"He thinks this is funny! That man killed my family!" _I tell Soubi angrily. He gives a hearty laugh._ "I am so glad you think this is funny."_

_"Settle down pup. He is going to help us. I have met him once or twice before and he's a good Shinigami."_ Fully chastised by Soubi for my actions, I am slightly embarrassed.

"I am sorry for my outburst, Boss" I bow my head slightly, "it will not happen again."

"No harm done child. So where should we begin?" I realize that the question is indeed not rhetorical so I start with the most basic thing I could think of.

"Am I still me?" I say. I realize that is not at all basic. It is probably the most complex question ever.

"What do you mean?" Boss begins to lower himself and sits across from me. I am glad that he lowered himself, my neck was getting tired of looking up.

"I died and now I have a wolf demon soul bonded with mine. In addition to that I am in a strange world which I have no clue to how I arrived. Lastly I feel older, like I know more things. But am I still me?" I realize that the idea of me not being me anymore frightens me. To be someone for five years and then cease but still feel like yourself is absurd and unthinkable.

"You will always be you child. No one can take that away from you. Yes you did die and to save your life I bonded your soul with the soul of a wolf demon who was also dying. It was the most moral thing to do considering that neither of you were ready to leave the living. You are in this world because you are no longer just a mere person. You aren't even a mere person with a demon inside of you. You were resurrected by me, and therefore are something that I don't even know about." Boss looks expectantly to see if I have any questions.

"Why did you save me? I suppose it would be us, because you just said that you save Soubi as well."

"I saved you because I couldn't allow you to die. You had not lived a full life, or even half a life for that matter. You deserved a chance to live. In addition you are an old soul, if not you could have never been saved."

"An old soul? What is an old soul?" I was starting to get a little confused at this point. It was a lot to take in.

"Did you know that Shinigami were once human?" Boss asked. I shook my head, while Boss sighed. "Shinigami were once human because the ruling gods didn't want to create new gods to take care of the passing of each soul or do it themselves. Old souls are humans who were destined to go on to be Shinigami. Old souls, therefore, were reincarnated several times so they wouldn't grow to hate being not of the living but immortal. You are-"

"Wait, so I'm immortal?" I almost screamed. To never die, that is surely something to think about. No end to yourself. No relief to the pain called life.

"Technically yes, but you are also strangely alive and not a Shinigami," he said with a confused look.

"Wait, so I'm not a Shinigami, I'm not an immortal human, and I'm not even a regular human? What the hell am I then?" I screamed this time.

"Well, I don't know. You still hold onto your humanity which doesn't make you a Shinigami, but at the same time you are part Shinigami since you were changed by me and therefore are immortal. But you died, so you aren't technically an immortal which makes you closer to a human. I really can't put a name on you now, but you are an old soul."

"What does being an old soul have to do with me right at this moment?" I was quickly becoming depressed. It is hard knowing that you are some form of new age monster.

"Because you held onto your soul when you changed. This is also why you feel older or like you know other things. Because you lived past lives, some knowledge is flowing through you. You are quite special. I want you to know that I will take care of you and see to it that you continue your existence as best as you can." Boss smiled after all this while I just frowned. I stayed quiet and retreated to my thoughts.

I am an anomaly. An anomaly. I am no longer normal. I'm not even close to being a weird normal. So what do I do now? I can't go back home, I'm a Shinigami. Can I stay here? But I'm still alive in a sense so I don't think my body could handle it. Wait does this mean I have to become a Shinigami and watch dead people. I don't like dead people. Well I was a dead person now that I think about it. So dead people must not be too bad. I am still surprisingly taking this well. Maybe it was because my soul was prepared for this to happen. I was actually prepped for this kind of thing.

I looked at Boss once again. He had gotten up sometime during my breakdown and had his back turned to me. When he turned to me, he held a glass of water, a rice ball and two little white pills on a tray for me. He set the tray next to me and returned to his place on the floor across from me.

"Eat, you must be famished. The pills will help with the healing, pain and fatigue," he said gently as if trying to coax a scared animal from a hiding place. I grabbed the pills and water and gulped it all down. I then took the rice ball, but not without cleaning my hands of blood with the wet towel on the tray. Biting down on the rice ball, I began chewing while staring at Boss.

"So," I started, swallowing my food, "what exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Well you could choose to help me as a Shinigami, though I imagine you could not stay here all the time. This space is made for those without humanity and it could damage you. I could send you back to your world and you could continue a life there, though you do have the essence of a Shinigami and must have that removed. But I suspect when it is removed, you would die along with Soubi." Boss sighed once again. I really was causing trouble for this poor man.

Thinking to what he just said, I tried to find a solution. I most certainly didn't want to die. I mean, I was accepting when the Okinawa heir killed me but now I'm reluctant. That and I didn't want Soubi to die. It would be really inconsiderate of me to allow him to die because things became hard for me. I took another bite of my rice ball chewing slowly, noticing the pain from my body no longer a thought in my mind. I guess I'll have to become a Shinigami, but I can't stay here. I swallowed when I got an idea. Boss looked to be deep in thought when I cleared my throat to get his attention. His brown eyes turned to me.

"I could work as a Shinigami, while living in the world," I said quietly. I didn't know if that is even a suitable idea. Boss's face then lit up and he grinned largely at me.

"Yes, that could work. The first Shinigami to work as a balancer." Boss continued to grin madly.

"A balancer?" I sighed. There were just too many terms for me to put together.

"Yes, a balancer is an immortal human who keeps the balance between good and evil. You could work as one, and it would be easier because you could send the souls to their respective places. Perfect. Just perfect, child."

"So I work taking care of the balance between good and evil," I laughed. That was ridiculous. What is this some kind of child's fairy-tale. Good and evil don't need to be taken care of, because the kami….. Wait I am a kami—technically speaking—so it's my job now. I stuff the rest of my rice ball in my face. I can't take this anymore. All this is so crazy it hurts.

"Well I guess, you don't have to work as a balancer in your world. Maybe World C would suit you for a while. You are indeed still a child and I don't want you getting hurt so soon. A couple of years in World C until your, what ten or eleven, and then you could go back to World N. Of course I would still have to prepare you to become a shinobi. Soubi could train you in World C. Chakra is still in that world and hasn't faded away like other ones." Boss said as he looked into a book he pulled out. The book appeared to be a regular black notebook. I raised my hand trying to get his attention.

"I'm sorry Boss, but what is World C? Also, why is my world called World N?" I was once again teetering on edge called confusion.

"Yes sorry. Well you must know that there are other worlds than your own in different dimensions and planes of existence," Boss looked hopefully to me. Planes of existence? Different dimensions? I don't care how old my soul is, that is confusing. I shook my head. Again Boss sighed. I felt bad for him for a moment, but then I remembered that he saved me. He did this to himself.

"Very well. There are other worlds than your own. When the gods created different worlds they created them all a little differently or they created them the same except for some small details. This created drastically different life-filled forms. Your world is technically one of the younger worlds, while mine, Earth or World C, is one of the older ones. Earth is like yours because it is filled with humans, but other than that it is different in the lives humans live. I am going to make you a balancer on my world because it would be easier for your development. You still will be trained to be a shinobi for when you return to your world, but I want you to be happy and a child for a little longer." When he finished he had this sad look in his eyes. He felt bad that I was an orphan. He wanted the best for me. I felt a tear run down my scarred cheek. It was the first tear I cried this whole time. Boss looked alarmed but I waved him off.

"Thank you. Your kindness makes me so happy." Tears continued to fall down my face. Boss got up and closed the small length between us. He then hugged me. I rested my tear soaked face in his toga and felt the warmth of another person. Meanwhile I felt him lean his head down and he kissed the top of my head in a parent-like manner. I began to cry harder.

I would be alright. With Boss and even Soubi, I would be fine. I would make it through. I would learn to be happy again.

* * *

**Okay guys! Hope you like the chappie. I most certainly had fun writing this one. I am waiting for someone to review or fav or follow. I am not going to stop the story if nobody reads it, because I do. I want to write this and sadness will not get in the way of that. Again totally open to any suggestions you guys might have. Next chapter, Keiko will finally get to be Shinigami/Balancer. I know this is some deep frickin material and probably confusing as heck so feel free to ask questions. P.S. As Keiko gets older I'm totally going to change her name to something ironic that will still kinda fit in the Narutoverse. So have a happy summer and remember fish are friends, not food. P.P.S. (or P.S.S.) If you're wondering why I chose Keiko, I chose it because it means blessing in Japanese and that is what she as to her family.**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Keiko.**_


	3. New Weapon, New Name, and New World

"**What's your name,' Coraline asked the cat.' Look, I'm Coraline. Okay?'**

**'Cats don't have names,' it said.**

**'No?' said Coraline.**

**'No,' said the cat. 'Now you people have names. That's because you don't know who you are. We know who we are, so we don't need names."**

**-Neil Gaiman, **_**Coraline**_

* * *

I was completely cried out. I had no more tears to shed and to put it mildly I was embarrassed by the whole ordeal. I did not cry. My parents had even said that I never cried as a baby. But here I was wrapped up in Boss's arms like a newborn babe exhausted from crying. I moved slightly away from Boss and he released me. My eyes hurt and I was going to rub them with my sleeve, but remembered I was still in my blood-soaked kimono.

"Umm, Boss?" I asked, embarrassed with my previous actions. I looked up to see that Boss had also gotten some blood on his toga. Boss's expression was one filled with love and I nearly started crying again. I looked down and twiddled my thumbs nervously.

"_Pup, there is no need to be embarrassed. A terrible loss has occurred to you. I am quite proud that you have held up so far"_ Soubi said in the back of my mind. His voice sounded like what Boss's face looked like. I mentally thanked Soubi, returning my gaze to Boss.

"Boss, I was wondering, do you have any place I could clean up. These clothes are filthy and though I wouldn't want to take them off, I know I have to change" I said quietly meeting his eyes. Internally I didn't want to leave the only thing connecting me to my parents, but life had to go on.

"Of course child. You could come this way. This world has many paths." Boss gestured at an empty space of white and suddenly a golden door appeared. I stared with wide eyes at the door and returned them to Boss. He seemed to have an expression of slight amusement on his face. I rose shakily to my feet and walked to the door. Putting my hand on the cold crystal knob, I pushed. What I saw was one of the most beautiful bathrooms ever.

Everything was white, as is everything in this world, but it seemed to glitter and glow. The sink was on a pedestal to the right with gold fixtures. The toilet was lined with gold across from it. But what truly caught my attention was the shower. The head of the shower was suspended at the top of the ceiling and was huge and golden. There was frosted crystal doors that showed intricate designs of roses and their thorny stems. The room, like the room I was just in seemed to have no walls and was just space.

I realized I was gaping when Boss chuckled at me. Standing in the doorway, I turned to him. He looked happy, and he handed me a pile of clothing. Then pushing me into the bathroom, he closed the door. I gaped at the space once again, before looking at the clothing Boss just handed me.

The pile wasn't traditional like I expected, but was rather foreign looking. There was a shirt of soft material, and dyed a dark red with foreign writing on it. I looked at the writing and all of a sudden the words made sense. The shirt red read, "Everyone deserves some happiness" in black flowing lettering. The pants were a different story altogether. They were a dark blue with yellow stitching. They had a large buckle and a zipper. Jeans. These are jeans. I looked at the shoes. Vans. That's what the black shoes were called.

"_How come I know them, without having been told Soubi?"_ I hoped my demon resident could fill me in, because I again was a little lost.

"_You're a Shinigami now, and they know everything they need to know to get by in the world. I assume you won't know everything, but common knowledge would be instantaneous. I'll know everything you will know. Just like I know that the t-shirt is made out of cotton."_ Soubi will know the things I know? Well that will certainly be helpful.

I piled the clothes on the toilet and began to undress. The kimono sticking to me in a rather disgusting fashion. The kimono fell to the floor with a plop and I kicked it towards the door. Pity that was my favorite kimono and now it was ruined forever. I opened the glass door and stepped into the shower. In front there were two valves. Not knowing which was which I turned both to the middle and settled on a hot shower. Water poured on me from above. There was shampoo, conditioner and soap thankfully and I washed till my skin was red from the scalding temperature.

While I was showering I noticed something strange. My nails, normally free of polish and color, were a dead black. I shrugged this off and figured that it was a side effect of either dying or becoming a Shinigami. I dressed in the clothes, finding underwear in between the shirt and jeans, but not without drying myself with a plush towel. Having finished the routine I turned to look at myself at the mirror that appeared at the top of the sink. I was startled with what I saw.

My normal ebony locks had turned a stark white. The shoulder length hair was nearly dry, but still clung to my skin. But what really scared me were my eyes. They were a golden color. A little more yellow than an adult wolf, but indeed feral looking. I looked away. My bone features were the same, so was my skin tone. My body had even remained scarred and burned, the five point star on my left cheek red from the scalding water. Turning to the mirror again I gave a slight yelp. The girl who was me but with white hair, star scarred into her face and yellow eyes stared back.

I decided I would have to live with the change, though I was a little startled. There was no way to make me the way I was. I would never be who I was then, and I have to go on living as who I am now. I picked up my blood soaked kimono and put it in the sink. I then proceeded to light it aflame with blue fire. I am never going back.

Once everything was burned, I exited the space, closing my small hand around the crystal knob. When I opened the door, I saw Boss in a clean toga. He looked up at me from the small couch, scroll in his hand. Immediately he smiled and gestured for me to come to him.

"I see the clothes fit you. Now we just need to give you your weapon." Boss moved take something out of a bag I had not noticed at the other side of the couch. From the bag he pulled a black tube. It looked to be made out of metal and appeared to be very heavy.

"My weapon? I thought that I would not need a weapon because I am a Shinigami." What was the use of being able to live in a world without worlds if I couldn't just force people to do my will?

"A weapon is owned by every Shinigami. Each weapon is unique in its own way. The weapon chooses its master, and because we are all unique, not one weapon could ever be owned by another Shinigami. You will need your weapon because everyone will fight death when it is their time to come. No one goes easily." Boss explained while moving the black tube into my hand. It was warm to the touch, but not necessarily unpleasant. The tube began to hum gently and turned a little heavier. I continued to hold it reminiscing on Boss's words.

"What weapon do you have Boss?" childlike curiosity getting the better of me. Boss held his arm to the right of his body and a silver spear came into the air. The spear looked to be made out of silver and was double-edged.

"This is my weapon, Roland. When a weapon chooses you, it will you tell you its name." the spear then disappeared once again.

I looked down at the black tube and saw it begin to distort. I grew frightened but when I looked to Boss he nodded reassuringly. The tube began humming faster and faster, grow almost burning hot. I closed my eyes for a mere second and when I reopened them I was holding a scythe.

"Oh my goodness," I whispered. Boss heard me, a puzzled look on his face.

"I was sure it would be a katana or ninja tool" he said to me.

"No," I replied to him. "It is beautiful."

The scythe was indeed beautiful. It was black as night and shone like ebony in the white space. It was probably around six feet tall and towered over me. The staff was round and embellished with blood-red stones. The bottom of the staff had a pointed blade with what appeared to be three spikes. The blade had a great red jewel that strangely resembled an eye. The blade at the top went two and a half feet out from the staff and curved ever so slightly at the tip. Where the staff ended was another blade, but this time rounded into a point.

I stood there admiring the weapon when I heard a voice in my head. I thought it was Soubi, but it was less paternal and smoother. The voice was like water rushing over stones or a blade ripping easily into flesh.

"_What is the name of my master?" _the voice asked, my head began to spin.

"_My name is Keiko Marusame"_ I replied. I felt the scythe grow angry.

"_That is not a proper name for my master. From here on your name shall be Morrigan, the Goddess of War and Death, the Queen of Phantoms."_ The voice seemed oddly happy at giving me such a dramatic title.

"_And who may I thank for giving me such a name?"_ I figured this voice liked theatrics. Might as well give it what it technically wanted.

"_I am Arawn, God of the Underworld as well as Revenge."_ The voice boomed in my small head. I can feel the headache starting already. Sometimes I feel as if there are too many voices in my head.

"_It is a pleasure to hold one so strong. I thank you for allowing me to become your master."_ I was truly thankful. I knew that I had to have a powerful weapon if I ever wanted to return home.

"_You were worthy of me, Morrigan. You will do me well, and together we shall cut down the lives of many."_ The scythe hummed as if it was laughing. I rested the weapon against my shoulder, blade pointing away from my sight.

I turned to Boss, who returned to the couch. He was again reading the scroll, but a pack lay at his feet. When he saw that I was no longer communicating with my weapon he smiled.

"So what is you weapon's name?"

"Arawn and he says my name shall now be Morrigan." I said happily. Even though I had gotten myself killed, I was happy to here now.

"Arawn, the God of the Underworld, and Morrigan the Supreme War Goddess. Such fitting names for a Shinigami who is going to become a balancer. Your weapon is also quite powerful. Because its name is that of a God, it holds extra power. I believe by it giving you a name of a Goddess, Arawn is saying you also hold extra power." Boss mused over this new information delighted with both me and my weapon.

"You said your weapon's name was Roland? What power does your name hold?" I was curious because Boss seemed like a very powerful man. He looked upon me with eyes I couldn't read.

"Sadly my weapon isn't as powerful as yours. Roland was merely a hero in medieval England." He said with a casual tone. "Well, I think it is time to teach you the second most important thing about Shinigamis. Transportation and the life energy."

I sat on the floor once again. Careful of where I placed Arawn, I laid him across my lap.

"We Shinigami live off of live energy. In a way it is like chakra, but in a way that not everyone has it. In your world chakra is given off of all living and even non-living things. Life energy is the energy we absorb from the worlds as a whole. Can you feel your life energy? You merely need to think of nothing and feel."

I closed my eyes and felt. At first I could feel nothing but my chakra. It was cold and if I focused too much on it, I often became numb. But then I felt it. Behind the chakra was some heat. It was almost like a warm embrace. The energy flowed through me and almost sizzled at the places of contact. When I felt it, I nodded my head to tell Boss I found it and he could continue.

"That life energy is the reason for our existence. It also what supports our abilities. The ability to summon your weapon comes from that. You see you could will away Arawn, but you must have life energy to make the connection and bring him back. Transportation for us is done by teleportation. You must first have seen a place to teleport there. But once you know where you want to go, merely wish for your life energy to be there and you will be. Wish you were in the bathroom earlier and then wish back here." Boss folded his arms and signified he would wait.

So all I have to do is wish for myself to be there. I wonder if I didn't hold Arawn, would he go with me if I wished both of us. I closed my eyes and tried concentrating.

"Yes. If you wish me with you, I will follow. Regardless if you hold me or not, I will follow you to the ends of the heavens," Arawn said smoothly. I was oddly touched by his statement.

I then visualized the bathroom and literally wished for myself to be there. I opened my eyes to see myself sitting on floor of the bathroom. I then wished for myself to be in front of Boss. This time I kept my eyes open, but I saw nothing more than white. The feeling of teleportation was like being yanked then falling out of the hold a second later. My life energy also became more obvious to me, sizzling at the core of my being.

"Very good. You are a natural learner Kei—I mean Morrigan. I am going to have to remember that," Boss said more to himself than to me. "Now if you have no life energy you will also not be to teleport. I suspect because you died, you won't be able to enter the Nether or even heal as quickly as a regular Shinigami. But you won't need to be in the Nether as a balancer and having a Demon in you will heal you quickly, so no worries." Boss then smiled at me and came to me. I noticed I was still clutching Arawn and loosened my grip slightly.

"_I am going to send you home Arawn."_ I thought that not telling him would be quite inconsiderate of me.

"_Until you call upon me again Morrigan."_ I smiled at his words and wished him away. My hands were left empty the next second. Boss was above me and bent down to hold me in his arms. I felt like a child, but I wasn't going to ask him to put me down. His grip was somehow soothing and I thought back to my parents. I decided in that moment to get revenge on the Okinawa clan heir. I would avenge my parents. But I would never let the revenge eat at me. Life was much more than only killing the one who brought you pain.

"I am going to take us to World C. There are some balancers in the Oregon area that I think you would like. They are also the least crazy of all the balancers I know. So hold on tight and close your eyes." Boss said this looking onwards. I heeded his words and shut my eyes. I felt the rush of being transported, but this time more heavily.

"Okay you can open them."

I opened my eyes and saw a place that only I could dream of seeing, a place which was so foreign even in the Valley none knew what it was, and a place which took my breath away in mere paintings. I opened my eyes and saw the ocean.

* * *

**Hi there guys. New Chappie, New Chappie, New Chappie! Totally liking where this story is going. Think I am going to do a time skip in the next two chapters. The skip will take place in Morrigan's time on Earth. I think I am going to have her stay there for five years. Remember to fav, follow, comment. No one has commented yet, so I am kinda thinking you guys hat it. Do you? Please tell me. (begs) Pleeeeeaaaassssseee. **

** _So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan/Keiko and my new fav Arawn the Scythe._**


	4. Bad First Impression, Good First Mission

"**Non nobis solum nati sumus.**

**(Not for ourselves alone are we born.)"**

― **Marcus Tullius Cicero**

"**At first sight, his address is certainly not striking; and his person can hardly be called handsome, till the expression of his eyes, which are uncommonly good, and the general sweetness of his countenance, is perceived."**

― **Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility**

* * *

The smell was intoxicating. For a moment I forget all about my life, my parents, even my death. The breeze went through my hair and I could swear I was flying. The ocean seemed to go on forever. I bet it did go on forever and ever. Then I noticed the sun. I first saw it in the reflection in the ocean. A big ball of orange. I looked up and saw the sun for all its majesty. It would probably be strange to anyone that I was so overjoyed to see the sun, but they take the sun and everything around them for granted every day. The sun continued to shine even when I averted my eyes. The day was nice, maybe even a little chilly.

"Some of the balancers live in the national park. The state wasn't very happy but we came up with the necessary documents. There are about four living there right now I think." Boss spoke as I continued to relish in the view and sea breezed. Then his voice turned stern, "if any of them hurts you or even bothers you in some way, you tell me. I expect them to take care of you. You're much younger than our other recruits and they are going to have to slow down for you to keep up."

"I don't want to be a burden Boss," I said in a stern voice myself. "If I am to go back to my world, I'm going to have to be tough and learn all that I can from the people here. There should be no reason, I should be slow for more than a month. Also other people won't be soft on me, so they should prepare me for the road ahead."

I don't want anyone to go easy on me. True that I am still a child, but I come from another world which is harsher and would chew me up and spit me out. As it is, I've already died once, I don't need to meet death again. Even though I am immortal, I will not be weak. Revenge then entered my mind. I needed to avenge my family name. The Okinawa Clan will suffer for what they did.

"_I am beginning to like you more and more Morrigan,"_ my weapon, Arawn, said to my head. My fingers twitched already beginning to miss his weight in my hands.

"_I also want revenge on those men, but it must not be our only objective in this life,"_ Soubi said to me calmly. _"We must find a higher purpose, one befitting an immortal Shinigami."_

"_I know that also Soubi. I do not yet know what that purpose is, but maybe living here, we will find it." _Both voices were silenced, but their presences still known to me.

"Well, I believe we better get going. The sun is going to set and the balancers normally go out at night to strike. We must not be late." Boss said this turning us away from the sea and facing large trees.

The land before me looked as if the forest went on and on. I closed my eyes, knowing that Boss was going to teleport once again. The teleportation was getting easier, a mere familiar yank and drop much more mild than when we came from the world between worlds. I opened my eyes to see a log cabin with a green roof. The trees had bases as large as houses. The name of the trees popped into my head: **redwoods**. Boss set me down and walked to the cabin. I turned and walked to a large tree we teleported by. Rubbing my hand on the bark, I was surprised to feel the life energy it contained. Then having an idea, I brought chakra to my eyes and saw the chakra the tree also gave off. The chakra was a green color and dimmer than the red life energy the tree expelled.

Having been lost in my examination of the tree, I heard voices and feet walking my way. Startled I called Arawn. He appeared in my right hand which was not caressing the bark of the redwood. Turning I saw four people, each very different from the last. The first was a guy no older than twenty. He was skinny with glasses and wore what seemed to be a light blue collared shirt and pink tie. His pants were beige and baggy on his slim build. He was no taller than five and a half feet with black hair and light colored skin. The girl next to him was dark skinned with black hair in a weird style with red streaks: **dreadlocks**. She wore a black form fitting dress with no shoes and appeared to be around twenty also. She stood tall next to the first guy and even appeared to be taller than him with a more muscular body.

The next man was the oldest of the group around thirty-five and blond with what appeared to be green eyes. He was a giant and had to be at least six feet and built like a horse. He wore a white t-shirt that looked like it would rip at any second due to his muscles. The jeans he wore with white converse were a lighter color than mine. Lastly was a woman who looked like she was from my world with brown eyes and the brightest of red hair. She wore black stretchy pants which ended below the knee with a green blouse. She was the smallest of the group and was around twenty-five, but exuded a sense of power. Clutching Arawn tighter I looked to them with wary eyes and they in turn looked back with cautious smiles. Boss then appeared from behind the skinny man and seeing me scared, ran to my side.

"It's okay Morrigan. These are the balancers which I spoke of. There is no need to be frightened." Boss said this in a soothing voice, scared that I would either attack or cry, possibly both.

"Fear is not an emotion I am feeling right now Boss. I was merely startled. My father had taught me to always be armed and ready for a fight." I said softly, not wanting the others to hear my words.

"You knew where you were coming, kid. There ain't no reason to be pullin' weapons like we're at some fucking brawl." I looked to the group and saw that it was the dark skinned girl that spoke.

"Language Lily. She is only a child and she has been through enough." The fiery-haired woman spoke, reprimanding the other girl, Lily.

"Yah, but Akane she doesn't even know how to use that thing. She is liable to get hurt. It doesn't look like a very nice weapon either." The burly man said to the red head. I felt Arawn hum in my hand is disapproval.

"_I would never hurt you Morrigan. You are my master."_ Arawn was slightly offended by this man.

"Arawn would never hurt me," I told the four strangers. They all looked to me once again, but this time their eyes each held a different emotion. The big man looked amused, while the girl with dreadlocks, Lily, looked angry. Akane or the red-head, looked like she disapproved of something which I did. The guy who looked—**nerdy, yes my mind, nerdy**—was blank throughout the conversation.

"I am sorry if I made any of you angry." I then bowed low while holding Arawn in both hands and said, "Please, accept my utmost apology. I will be sure nothing of this sort happens again."

"Whatever kid, just don't pull that shit again." I knew from the tone it was Lily and I rose. Keeping a blank face would be best until I know how these people act. I felt Boss shift nervously and could tell he wanted me to put Arawn away.

"_I will call you again, if they do something. Okay, Arawn?"_ I told him mentally.

"_I would rather not leave your side,"_ Arawn said, slightly nervous at me being left open.

"_It's okay, Soubi is with me. Besides I don't believe that these people would like it if I kept you out. We already had a terrible first impression." _And father always said first meetings were the most important.

"_I will protect her, you need not worry."_ Soubi was tense and I could tell he was ready to pounce at any moment. How he would pounce, I didn't exactly know.

"_Very well. Until you call upon me again master."_ I then willed Arawn away and realized I had been silent for some moments. Everyone was staring at me and I couldn't help but blush slightly through my façade.

"I'm sorry. Arawn didn't want to leave me. To tell you the truth, he didn't seem to trust you people very much." I figured I'd tell them now that I wasn't the most trusting of people. Having died at the hands of what you thought was an ally did wonders for your trust instinct. They all looked at me surprised until the nerdy guy started laughing. The others didn't seem fazed by his laughter so I figured it must be a normal thing. Boss then cleared his throat and silence was blanketed over us once again.

"Well everybody this is Morrigan." Boss paused and I bowed slightly in a sort of greeting. "Morrigan, this is Arash (the nerdy guy), Lily (the dreadlock girl), Antonio (the burly man), and Akane (the red-haired girl). They are the balancers that we were talking about earlier. All of them come from this world except for Akane who came from your world on a transfer."

I gazed at Akane and met her brown eyes. No wonder she didn't look like she was foreign to me. Maybe she could teach me some ninjustu while I was here. She seemed like a nice enough person, having stuck up for me. She smiled at me and I returned it, she looked like a person I could trust. Then again, my instincts might be a little off.

I looked to Arash and he also smiled at me. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but looks could be very deceiving. I smiled at him back, figuring he hadn't gotten mad at me then why give him a reason. Turning to Lily I found a scowl. Immediately I scowled back and raised my nose to her. I didn't like her one bit. As I turned to Antonio I changed my face to match his wary smile. I heard Lily scoff at me but didn't return my gaze to her.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Boss, it was much appreciated. I also realized I forgot to thank you for saving our lives, both Soubi and mine." I said this with true gratitude. I was grateful. Boss gave me another chance at life.

"You are most welcome, my child. I know you will be in good hands here and if you ever need me, you know where I'll be." Boss then laid a loving hand on my head and disappeared in the next second. I guess he didn't want to be here just in case we got into a brawl as Lily said. I couldn't blame him. I turned back to my new keepers and an awkward silence ensued. The silence dragged on for a good minute and we just stared at each other with wary looks.

I turned away first, tired with whatever game they were playing. I looked to the redwood and decided I would try out climbing it. Might as well start training, it is better than looking at those fools. I focused chakra to my feet and ran at the tree a few feet in front of me. Immediately I felt myself stick, but tried to focus the correct amount of chakra to the tree. No need to embarrass myself here. When I reached the first large branch that was maybe twenty feet up, I flipped and sat down.

"Fucking hell, did you just see what the lil' shit did." I looked down at the balancers and saw all but Akane had wide open mouths. Lily who swore at me looked so surprised she might think that the world was round. **The world here is round though, almost like a ball, but much, much larger.**

"I do have a name you know. In addition to that, I was just wondering if you guys are just going to continue to stare at me or actually speak. Because I am all for the silent treatment, but after I know where I'm going to sleep and eat. Besides you guys are terrible hosts and hostesses. I would have already had a pot of tea going if you were my guests." I said this with a smile, happy that I could use chakra in this world just as well as at home. I was also happy because this is the first tree I ever got to climb and it was a beautiful tree indeed.

"If you come down, we may be able to actually show you your room." I looked at Akane who wasn't recovering from shock of my climbing the tree or shock from my words. I proceeded to jump off the tree, reinforcing my legs with chakra. Whatever shock the other three balancers were trying to get over, they didn't recover with my newest antic.

"That would be much appreciated, thank you." Akane then turned to lead the way to the cabin. We left the other three behind, but when I got to the door I called them to come in. They were just staring at the slight marks of my vans in the dirt, amazed. I wonder if they have ever really seen a shinobi. **No, shinobi and all types of jutsu do not exist in this world and if they do, they are seen as magic or a myth. **

"_How boring that must be huh,"_ I thought mentally to Soubi.

"_Very boring indeed,"_ Soubi agreed.

"So where are you from Morrigan?" Akane asked me while showing parts of the house. It was modest inside and everything was wooden. There was a dining room with a table for eight, a TV with couches in the living room, a small dark countered kitchen, three bathrooms and six bedrooms.

"The village of death in the Valley of Shadows, and you?"

"I was from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools. I see that you have had shinobi training before and for your age you quite adept." Akane said this while showing me my room. My room was cozy to say the least. There was a large bed with a green comforter and wooden head and foot board. There was a small closet and a chest of drawers to the right of the bed. The bed itself was situated facing the door, probably so you could prepare yourself should someone hostile enter the room.

"Thank you. My father taught me as much as I could learn in the past year or so. I was bedridden due to illness for most of my life." I said dully entering the room and sitting on the bed. The comforter was warm and soft.

"I am sorry to hear that," Akane said, coming to sit next to me on the bed. "I could continue training you, though I must admit that I know very few ninjutsu and my taijutsu has suffered from lack of use. But I am very good at fuinjutsu and could teach you a lot of things there."

"I would be happy to take you on as a teacher, Akane-sensei." I was really overjoyed to hear that she would help me. I turned and smiled my first real smile since I met them at her. She was obviously surprised that I so readily accepted her and her small skills, but smiled brightly at me back. Just then, Antonio entered the room with a serious expression.

"We have to get moving to where they are holding the conference. One of Arash's cameras caught them all going in. We're going to have to leave now if we wanna get them all in one shot." I looked at Antonio and got off the bed. I don't think that he expected me to be ready to go with them. Antonio looked at Akane with a questioning look and she just put her hand up to send him off.

"Do you want to go with us, I'm sure that you're—" she asked turning to me. I interrupted her not wanting to hear her coddle me.

"I will go with you guys. This is my new job, my duty. Please don't treat me like a little girl, when I am capable Shinigami." I must admit, that I was exaggerating a bit—more than a bit really. I didn't know if I was capable. Hell, I didn't even know what we were going to do exactly, but I didn't want to be left behind.

"Okay then. Here are the details. We are balancers and we keep the balance between good and evil in the world. In order to do that, we have to kill people. Sometimes the people are good, but we still have to take them to keep the balance. Good people aren't often killed in this world though because evil corrupts this place way too often. Do you understand?"

"Yes Akane-sensei."

"Good, now there are a couple of people we have to kill tonight. This is a gang that has been killing several people with large-influence in justice here. But for some reason, they never answer for their crimes. This is where we come in. We set up a stakeout, and now is the time. We are going to go kill them. We've all seen the location before, but because you haven't hold my hand when we transport. And get your weapon out now. These guys have weapons that shoot faster than the eye can see so you have to be fast. Teleport if you have to, okay?"

I nodded and we both left my room with serious expressions. I had never killed anyone before, but this is my duty now. Because it was my duty, I would fulfill it without question. Being raised to see death as nothing also helped. We headed to the small kitchen and I saw that the others already had their weapons out. Lily had a set of daggers a golden color with blue stones on the hilt. Arash had a rifle with the letters B and C carved into the metal. Antonio had a crude axe bigger than my head. Akane summoned her weapon, a silver katana which gleamed with the now setting sun.

"_Ready to go Arawn?" _

"_Of course Morrigan."_ Arawn appeared in my hands and I shifted to hold him in my right. With my left I grabbed Akane and kept my eyes open. The tug and pull of teleporting was insignificant. When we arrived I saw we teleported into what seemed to be an empty warehouse. Around a large round table stood a dozen men dressed in suits. When they saw us, they pulled out guns and started firing. Somehow instinctively, I knew what to do and without a second breath I began to fight.

Grabbing Arawn in both hands then, I teleported to behind the guy to my right. I immediately plunged Arawn's rounded tip into his heart. I pulled out and watched as he fell to the ground. I turned again and teleported to the side of a guy on the other side. This time I swung Arawn and beheaded him. The head rolled to the ground and stared at me. I watched as his eyes began to close and noticed Lily caught between two men who had come in through a door on the other side of the warehouse.

For a split second she looked scared. I didn't like that look on her face and I teleported behind the men. I drove the tip of Arawn through the first man's neck, blood spurting all over my hair and face. Turning Arawn, not fully pulling him out of the man's neck, I pushed his blade at the bottom into the other's heart. Blood once again spurt on me and covered my white hair.

I listened to the warehouse and realized there were no more gunshots. Looking down at Lily I smiled gently. She had fallen to the floor and was staring at both of the men. Slowly I crouched down and reached out to her shoulder. She looked at me with glazed over eyes. I smiled at her once again before she jumped into my arms and embraced me, crying into my shoulder. I shifted Arawn to the side and put my arms around the girl.

"Thank you. I, I was, was, stuck and I, remem, remembered when Boss found me. I just froze. Sorry. Thank you." She sobbed.

"It's okay. You're fine now. Everything is over." I said soothingly rubbing her back. I remember my mother doing it to me if I as particularly upset. She released me then, quickly rubbing her eyes. The black eye liner smudging making her look like a raccoon. I stood up and gave her my hand. Pulling her up, I noticed the others surrounding me.

"Damn, you're going to be a great balancer, Morrigan." Antonio said with an amazed tone.

"I concur." Arash said, his soft voice matching his small frame.

"Of course she will." Akane said, proud of me, even though I was her student for no more than thirty minutes.

"Fuck yah." Lily cursed, rubbing her eyes once again.

I knew then, that even though I was an anomaly, I would do well as a Shinigami. I would fulfill my duty. Then was when I made my nindo: to make the world a better place, by balancing the forces of evil and good. With the blood of my enemies on my face and hair, a scythe in my hands, and an almost psychotic smile is the moment when I became a ninja.

* * *

**So, I made so me changes to the summary and I also changed the story from T to M. The story is going to get a little dark and also a little more sweary. Even though I haven't even thought of Hidan, there is gonna be a lot of bad language around here. But what can I say, I don't do drugs, don't drink, don't talk back to my parents... All I do is swear like sailor and play my music loud. Do you guys like Morrigan? I do. This isn't really a self-insert, but I am going to base off her idea of death off of my idea of death. Not saying I go out and fix the world by killing people, but sometimes bad people shouldn't be around to make the world worse. Whatever. I ain't a Shinigami, so I don't gotta deal with this. Remember to review if you totes hate my story or if you love it or if your indifferent or even if you saw a funny cat meme you wanna talk about. **

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	5. Note to Self: Get Map

**"Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."**

**― J.M. Barrie, _Peter Pan_**

**"You'll stay with me?'**

**Until the very end,' said James."**

**― J.K. Rowling, _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_**

* * *

It's been about five years since my first mission and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. My tenth birthday passed a couple of weeks ago and I really didn't want to do anything. My birthday is no longer a significant date in my life. Of course, my adoptive family didn't hear any of my protests, and threw me a huge party. Well as huge as a party could be with five people and two wolves. The two wolves being Arawn and Soubi.

During the years, I have learned a lot of fuinjutsu from Akane-sensei. One of the seals that I have perfected allows Soubi and Arawn to appear as wolves. The seals themselves were masterpieces and I had to draw them on my arms for them to work. I learned a year into being a Shinigami, that your weapon shares your soul with you. This is how they can communicate to you telepathically. I was a little startled by this, but what was I going to do other than just accept it. Because Soubi was bonded with me, he could also feel Arawn. We were all connected and sometimes I felt like they knew a little too much. Anyways, I learned that I could split my soul and allow their consciousness into shells.

I had first tried this with a sort of shadow clone, but it took too much chakra and I lost the ability to talk to them mentally. Also in wolf form, they could teleport easier with me. They couldn't get used to the tug and drop of teleporting as a shadow clone. Arawn was seen as a midnight black wolf with shining blood red eyes. Soubi on the other hand was a golden color with the bluest eyes. They actually liked the wolf form, Arawn saying he "was quite ravishing" and Soubi saying it "was all too familiar". The one drawback to having two fighters accompanying me, was that I couldn't fight with Arawn in scythe mode.

Therefore I had to learn how to fight with other weapons. Knowing that I had to go back to World N, I learned how to use kunai, shuriken and senbon. Lily, whose dagger weapons were named Artemis and Apollo, taught me everything I know. My aim hits almost 100 percent of the time with kunai and shuriken, but I am deadly with senbon. Lily would comment that senbon were never truly useful without hitting a certain point, but with my perfect accuracy, I didn't really see a problem.

Lily became my best friend and big sister. After I saved her on the first mission, she fell in love with me. I actually think that Lily had always wanted to be a mother, and used me as a surrogate child. Thank goodness I didn't stay in my five year old body. Regular Shinigami's bodies froze at the progress they made when changed. But my growing body didn't really stop Lily from babying me through her normal habit of swearing. I didn't really mind the constant nagging, constant swearing, or even her deciding what I should do, but she wasn't allowed to touch me. Ever since my parents died I rejected most forms of physical interaction between humans. The most I could handle was a hand on the shoulder. Unless I was killing you, my personal bubble was not to be invaded.

Killing people also got easier than I had originally thought. I learned that I had no remorse for killing people. The others were scared when I accidently told them this when extremely tired. I found that even though I was surrounded by people who expressed their emotions so openly, I repressed mine. I became quite the emotionless little girl. Often times people took my constant swearing as some form of emotional outlet, and I suppose it was, but my face didn't really change from the rare smile or blank look.

During this time, I also trained with Antonio. He didn't seem like much of a challenge for a shinobi, but he was great with teaching how to use Arawn. He also taught me to be conniving as well as strategic with my blows. Strategy was literally everything for Antonio. I grew to like Antonio and his weird sense of humor. He also introduced me to music from this world. Together we spent many afternoons lying on the beach, listening to Def Leppard, Black Sabbath or on occasion Avenged Sevenfold. There wasn't a moment when I was training that heavy metal or rock wasn't blasting in the background.

Antonio also introduced me to much of this world's pop culture. I watched plenty of movies and read the bestselling books and found I liked them a lot. I found myself quoting most things I've seen or read in an attempt to be humorous. I found myself extremely funny and witty, but the others didn't really seem to get it. When Antonio told me that World N was just a manga in this world, I nearly fainted. But I didn't want to know what the future was like in that world. Most of it was probably nonsense anyway. I hoped.

While Antonio showed me all the contemporary things in World C, Arash showed me the classics. I owe him a lot. He taught me many things that a child would learn at school. Between math, literature and the occasional psychology lesson, he was my sole teacher of the practical. The one thing that he taught that was unique was the violin. He gave it to me at my eighth birthday and began teaching me immediately. When I wasn't playing my violin, I was having philosophical discussions with Arash.

All in all, I became a very diverse person. I mean how many emotionless shinobi, Shinigami with a demon inside them, heavy-metal listening, violin playing, ten and a half year olds did you know? Not to mention what I wore. Between my endless band t-shirts and darker blouses, I practically lived in black leggings and jeans with converse or vans. Don't get me wrong I wore dresses and skirts and even sometimes pink, but it wasn't the most useful in a battle. Also flashy colors didn't really suit my white hair or pale skin-tone, so I stayed closer to black and dark blues, purples, and greens.

So here I was, in black leggings with a Lynard Skynard shirt running through the Oregon forest while blasting Styx for a change. I was working on my stamina and had been running through the trees for 20 hours straight at ninja speed. Soubi and Arawn ran at my side and flanked me, never complaining. They knew that doing this monthly run was very important to me. My iPod alarm went off and I began to slow turning towards home to cool off. The wolves at my side jumped to the floor and I followed. We jogged until the cabin came into view, slowing to a walk.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat drug in." It was Antonio, and I knew he had tickets for a concert that I declined quite obsessively. I hated when I went out. People in this world outright stared at me and pointed. I never really minded until the people started approaching me and touching my hair or seal-filled arms. By that point, I often started to pull weapons, which everyone frowned upon.

"What the fuck do you want bub?" Sensing something was amiss in the air, I reached for a senbon. Suddenly a blade came at me from the right. I dodged, feeling the blade pass right in front of my face. Marking the spot where I had landed, I teleported where the person should be. Lily was situated within the trees dressed in camouflage. Right behind Lily I pressed my senbon to the point at her neck.

"You always surprise me Em. You don't even skip a beat when you transport." Lily said this with a sense of pride in her voice. She turned to me and smiled a large smile, disappearing in the next second. Lily was somehow never put off from my blank expressions or stares. I jumped from the tree quite easily and walked to the cabin. My wolves came up from behind and flanked me once again.

"So, do you—"Antonio had caught up to me and started to ask.

"No." I replied shortly after interrupting him.

"But come on, we can put a wig on you and cover your arms. It will be totally fun. It's KISS and there are gonna be a couple of funky dressed people." Why wouldn't he let this go?

"_Because they know we are going to leave soon."_ Soubi had told me to spend more time with them before I left, but I refused.

"_They should start cutting ties with us. We won't ever see them again."_ Arawn was quite the opposite and wanted me to ignore them.

"_We will come back to visit. But at the same time, we don't belong here. This isn't our world."_ This wasn't my home and I wouldn't let all my training go to waste.

"Come on please. Stop giving me the silent treatment Morrigan." I realized then that I hadn't answered Antonio.

"You know how I feel about going out in public."

"But that's why you can use your henge-thingy and it'll be a disguise."

"No."

"Please."

"Absolutely not."

"But, this will be the last time we can ever go together." Hearing the sadness in his voice I stopped walking. I turned back to him and saw his eyes almost in tears.

"You know, this won't be the last time ever. I will come back, but I need to go home. There aren't too many balancers who can handle World N and the last one put in for a transfer. Besides, no matter how much I like it here, it doesn't feel…. right." I said all this with an uncharacteristically soft and comforting voice. I didn't like others who were precious to me feel sad. One of the emotions which I held onto strongly was that of a protector.

"I know, but somehow it feels like you'll be gone forever." Antonoi was truly a very soft person on the inside and wore his heart on his sleeve. I sighed and figured I would give everyone their going away present now rather than tomorrow morning when I was leaving.

"Come inside and gather the others. I have something that I need to give you stupid assholes." I then turned to the cabin and walked in. Passing the sound of a piano and two voices arguing, I went to my room. The two wolves went to lay on the bed, exhausted from our run. I continued my mission kneeling at the side of my bed. Under my bed, I pulled out a box with four thin black paint brushes with white hair. Wrapped around each of them was a seal. Taking out the brushes, I went to the dining room where the others were gathered.

They looked at me with expectant eyes. I handed each of them a brush and a piece of paper. Crossing the room I pulled an ink bottle out of small side table and gestured for them to sit. They sat and I told them to each dip their brush and write a sentence. I went back to my room and got one of my sealing scrolls I had made and took you a bone brush with hairs from each of my adoptive family. Going to the dining room I grabbed my own paper.

"Okay, I made each of these brushes for you so you could write to me and I could write back to you. I know that cross-dimensional mail takes forever, so I made something with seals and life energy. This is much stronger seal than a lot of my other stuff, but it was worth it." I dipped my paint brush into the ink and closed my eyes. Not looking at the paper, my hand wrote of its own accord. When I looked up, I saw four lines with drastically different.

The first line read, "I will really miss you, so we should totally go to the concert." If I didn't recognized the curly writing, the subject content gave him away and I knew it was Antonio. I wrote, "NO".

The second line read, "You better fucking remember to come home, so help me god, I will drag your ass home in front of your friends." The swearing and chicken scratch belonged to Lily and I replied, "I promise to come home."

The third line read, "I will miss our discussions and be sure to take your violin. If you need new strings or tuning, you can come home." I smiled at the blocky writing, "As will I, and if I need anything I will come."

The last line read, "You have been a great student. If you meet anyone with the name Uzumaki, you can most likely trust them after you tell them my name. They will protect you if they were close to me." I had been trying to get Akane-sensei to tell me her last name forever. I quickly wrote back to the flowing lettering, "Thank you".

"Now, you guys have to close your eyes and write. Your hand should have a mind of its own or feel like it does. Whenever you feel like writing just write with it. The brush will hum when there is a response." I watched as they each wrote my response to them. Upon opening their eyes, they got a very surprised look on their faces but all smiled—all except Antonio who frowned at being rejected once again.

"It's so we could always be together, even when we aren't in the same world. I do love all of you, and would have never chosen to be in a different world or with different people. You guys will forever be known as my family, and I thank you all." I was being a little more sentimental with them, letting my repressed emotions out for a change. I think they needed to hear all of this because they smiled at me.

"We also are glad that you got to stay with us. We love you like a daughter. Even though I wish you wouldn't go, we know this is something you have to do. You've just, grown up so much." Akane who had been speaking began to cry. I saw the others and they had tears in their eyes also. Feeling something wet on my scarred cheek, I reached up and wiped my face. I was crying. They knew I hadn't cried in years, having repressed my emotions in my training.

Coming up to me all four enveloped me in a large hug. Akane and Arash were in the center with Lily and Antonio enveloping them. Tensing at the contact, I didn't shrug them off. They needed this, and somewhere inside I knew I needed this too. They released me after about a minute, when they could feel me getting restless. It was a comfortable quiet until someone spoke.

"So," Antonio began rocking on the balls of his feet, "you wanna go to the concert?"

"Alright, I will go to the concert, but no disguise. You'll just have to intimidate anyone who wants to touch me. Okay?" I sighed exasperatedly at him jumping up and down.

"Yes!" He yelled and punched the sky while jumping. How that was even possible for such a big man, I didn't know.

"Lily, can you cut my hair? Akane can you help me seal some of my stuff? I'm going to leave some stuff here. Arash, I think my violin needs to be restrung and tuned." I figured I would keep them busy until tomorrow when I left. Truthfully I didn't want to replay the hug session that just occurred. Antonio left saying he needed to go prepare for us to teleport to our seats at the concert. Arash went and got my violin, saying it would be good as new, and left to town. Lily went to go get her stuff to cut my hair, while Akane followed me to my room.

"So what were you thinking of taking?" Akane opened my first drawer taking out several sealing scrolls.

"All my shinobi outfits. Then I was thinking three band tees, a pair of jeans, two leggings, an extra converse and vans, that black dress and my black jean jacket." I counted off on my fingers. Looking around I wondered where Soubi and Arawn went. I felt for them mentally and found they were at the beach, spending their last day here swimming. Arawn loved the ocean and Soubi went along wherever he went to make sure he didn't kill anyone.

"Are you going to take a skirt or a different blouse other than band tees?" I thought about this for some time. Maybe people would be freaked if they saw me with foreign writing. Akane was probably hinting that I couldn't wear them in the open.

"Um, pack what you think I should have other than those items." Leaving it up to Akane, she began to pack my stuff in the scrolls. Lily entered the room with her many pairs of scissors, combs, and shavers.

"Okay Em, what the hell we doing today?" I had kept my hair long for Lily. She had liked to play with it and braid it whenever she had the chance. So it had grown quite some length from the shoulder-length hair it used to be. Now it reached somewhere around my waist.

"I want it to be short. Like—"

"Why the hell do you want it short? You look so beautiful with it long. It's so flowy and whimsical and shit."

"Because I don't want to have to take care of it constantly. Besides having it long is a liability in a fight. It'll probably get cut anyway. Might as well save the time figuring out how to make it look good then."

"Okay. How short do you want it?" I put my hand a little below my ear when I hear her shriek.

"There? Why THERE?" She screamed. Akane even had to cover her ears.

"Because if you put it with bangs and really shaggy, it'll be easy to pull back, easy to dry, and I won't have to waste my time pulling it up." After about five minutes of her shrieking like a banshee, she finally caved. She always caves when it comes to me.

Taking the first cut was the hardest for her. She looked like she would cry, but after she cut off more than two feet of braided hair she was fine. What I was left with was a short bob. It was shaggy and Lily cut me some uneven fringe that almost went to my eyes. In a way I looked like I was a boy, but when I pulled it back in a red bandana, I loved how mature I looked. I always felt like I was older than ten so to see me look a little older felt good. Somewhere during the haircut, Akane had finished packing my bag. There was a lot of stuff I wasn't taking, but I knew I couldn't carry it all. She placed it all in a black slouch bag for me.

Double checking I made sure my bag had the necessary items: three sealing scrolls with clothes, two with weapons, one with mementos and books, one with my sealing equipment as well as my bone paint brush, one that would hold my violin when Arash brought it back and one which held extra bedding and toiletries. Nine sealing scrolls filled my pack. I knew that Akane would stuff an extra with unperishable food and water. The bag was actually a little empty because the scrolls were especially small, only six inches in length.

Looking at the time, I realized that I should get ready for the concert. When Arash came in, I was already done. He gave me my violin and I at once sealed it, putting a special seal on it which made it unable to be opened by anyone but me. Antonio came barging in the door when I was walking out of the cabin to call Arawn and Soubi. I told them I was leaving, and Antonio immediately teleported us to the concert. I sang to all the songs and was overjoyed when they played one of my favorites, Rain from the Carnival of Souls album. At the end Antonio bought me a t-shirt and a poster. He said I could hang the poster in my room when I get to World N and find an apartment.

Getting home, I was significantly happier than what I had been in weeks. When we teleported into the kitchen, I noticed everyone was waiting for us. Something was wrong. I looked at Soubi and could tell by the way he was pacing, they had been waiting for quite some time. They had waited for us to come home, not wanting to bother us I realized.

"_No, they didn't want to ruin Antonio and yours time. They said it wouldn't be fair to him."_ Arawn was quite calm and didn't seem worried.

"What's up guys?" Antonio asked suddenly going serious. I placed my newly purchase band merch on the table.

"We just have to go to Europe and take care of some militia. They're the ones we've been watching. There's a lot of them, so we didn't want to go without everyone." Arash said seriously. It wasn't a big surprise that I as the most powerful of them all. After all I was training for five long years. Without me, things would probably go a lot rockier. I pulled Soubi into me, and called for Arawn in his scythe form and he appeared in my hands.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked, my battle face slipping into place. The psychotic smile I always got when I thought about our missions hurt my cheeks. The others smiled back at me calling their weapons to themselves. I was the first to transport and quickly went to work chopping down men like wind blowing on hay. Beheading and teleporting, teleporting and beheading, I killed almost twenty men by myself before the others showed. The others stayed out of my way when I place my new explosive seals on a couple of men. I pulled the tie to the seal and small explosions went off at the base of the men's necks.

When there were no more people, I stood in front of almost a hundred dead bodies. At least fifty of them suffered by my own hand. I turned to the others and they nodded their approval. They knew they wouldn't be able to take on larger missions without me. We all teleported home and said goodnight. A day of battle being very successful in our eyes. I didn't sleep more than a couple of hours a week, Soubi's soul not wanting me to sleep too often.

So, I took a long shower and changed to be ready for the morning. The outfit I would wear when I entered World N was practical and comforting. I wore a dark purple tube top over a black mesh shirt. My pants were black leggings with a slim dark purple skirt with slits in the side over it. The leggings ended at the middle of my shin and I wrapped bandages to my ankle. Paired with black and red converse I put on a long coat. The coat was a cotton blend and had eyelets like it was knitted and went down to my ankles. I decided to wear my black mask which only covered my left side with my scar and ended at my lips. It looked like the mask in that movie Phantom of the Opera. Lastly I put on all four rings which had been presents from Akane. The two on my ring fingers were seals with extra chakra. The one on my left pointer finger was an empty seal, while the one on my right thumb was sealed with her book of fuinjutsu should I ever need it. With my weapons pouch on my right side, I waited for morning.

Sitting in a tree, I watched the sun rise. Hearing the noises of people waking up, I jumped down and let Arawn and Soubi out in wolf form. The others exited the cabin while I was doing some stretches. Boss arrived after I told them I would see them again. Having said goodbye yesterday, I didn't feel it was necessary to go through all the emotions again. Besides they were going to write me, so they no longer felt that I was leaving them completely.

"Are you ready to go Morrigan?" Boss asked when I turned to him. I gave him a small smile a little nervous about going back home.

"Of course." I waved to the others. They looked like they would cry but I turned to Boss quickly. He handed me a scroll.

"These will be your first assignments. There is only one other balancer in World N, so you probably won't even see him. You'll be working alone. Is that okay?" What did he think I was going to say, 'no, sorry. That wasn't in the job description.' I expected to be alone.

"Yes."

"Good. Well see you guys," he waved to the other balancers, "let's go."

He held my hand and we transported between Worlds. The teleportation was worse than most times, but I wasn't really bad. Looking around I couldn't really see anything. There was way too much mist. I looked at Boss who gently squeezed my shoulder and left. He left me without telling me where I was. Isn't that just great?

"_No."_ Both Arawn and Soubi replied in perfect unison.

Note to self: must get map.

* * *

** A New Chappie and it is uber long. So yah, it was a time skip. I decided one chapter of time skipping because two seemed like it would be totes odd. Remember to keep reading. Follow, Fave, Comment, if you want. Kinda excited for Morrigan to go home. Guesses on where she is? Anyone? Anyone? Oh well. So bye booboos luvs yous.  
**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	6. My Life is Full of Change and I Hate It

"**Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."**

― _**Apple Inc.**_

* * *

I am in a world which I haven't stepped foot in for five years, without a map, and with no knowledge of where I am exactly. Well, the mist does give me a large clue. I open the large scroll Boss gave me. Various names and affiliations are on it, all written in English. I figured they would have to do this, just in case I lose it or someone takes it. Of course people won't take it from me without lots and lots of wounds. So who's the first victim?

_"It says they are an S-ranked Nin from 'Bloody Mist'. Why is the village called 'Bloody Mist'?"_ Soubi was a little nervous, being in a place we didn't know.

_"I don't know, but I don't like it."_ I said letting both Arawn and Soubi out in wolf form. Turning the scroll over, I notice Boss included a scent patch for me. Well that is handy.

_"Indeed it is."_ Arawn was anxious to go out and hunt for this person.

_"Well we might as go and find a village with a map before heading out."_ I smelled the scent patch lightly, my nose enhanced because I was bonded with a wolf demon. Letting Arawn and Soubi smell the patch, I could immediately tell that the man isn't far.

_"There is a small village to the south of here, the same direction as our prey."_ Soubi began to lead the way and Arawn ad I followed through the thick mist. We traveled maybe two hours before we came upon a small village with nomads. We walked around for some time, before finding a merchant with maps of various nations. We entered his small shack of a shop and began to browse.

"Where'd you get those wolves, boy? Ain't see any of them in this land for a long time." The old man was wiry with missing teeth and white hair. He had a smile which I knew was supposed to come off as friendly but was merely suspicious.

"Doesn't matter." I continued looking at the maps and found one of Water country along with an updated Bingo book.

"Well, they would get a pretty coin if you sold 'em. Collectors would go crazy for them." I heard Arawn growl at the man. He didn't like the idea of collectors.

"They aren't for sale. How much would this stuff be?" I asked the man before Arawn could pounce at the man.

"Well, the Bingo book isn't something I would be willing to part with so easily." He wanted my wolves. I noticed that the door of the small shop closed. Fucker was going to try to rob me.

"Look, I'm going to give you one chance and one chance only to let me go. I will be taking the map and Bingo book free of charge. Got it?" I said this slowly, and made my voice have a dangerous edge to it.

"No, I don't think you understand. You are gonna give me those pretty little wolves of yours and I might even let you live as a slave." A large burly man appeared from the back of the store, knife in hand. The old man brought a kunai, and I wondered where he got that.

"Suit yourself." I kept my blank face and called Arawn out in this weapon form. The two swindlers were surprised to see one wolf disappear. In their surprise I stuck the blade at the top through the old man's neck and the blade at the end through the other's gut. They collapsed in a heap. I always forget that people think I'm a kid. Poor them.

I went to get my map and Bingo book. I picked them up when I noticed a beautiful hooded clock. It looked like it was made out of velvet and was a dark plum color. Taking off my black jacket and sealing it in a scroll in my pack, I put the cloak on. The cloak fit like a glove and went past my ankles. The only thing really visible were my eyes, mask and hair. Liking how it fit, I pulled the hood over my head. By this time, the large man was started to get up, clutching the bleeding wound. I went over to him and kneeled next to his body. He immediately stilled.

"If you ever try to cross me again, I will castrate you then shove it up your fucking ass. Do you understand?" I asked this with my psychotic smile lining my face. The wolves growled, making it sound intimidating when I knew they were really laughing.

"Who are you?"

"You could call me a Shinigami's little helper."

I left the store after that, my cloak blowing behind me. In the street I smelled the air.

"Might as well get back to work boys," telling the boys aloud with a somewhat sad tone. Soubi smelled the air and began to lead the way, tracking our first victim.

Tracking the man wasn't as hard I expected it to be. The mist and water didn't hold us back too badly. After all we did train in Oregon and I was always wet and moist there. Getting closer to the man, I could smell him stop. He probably caught on to us since the wolves didn't mask their energy. They could never truly be invisible to the prey.

_"That's because I like them to struggle a little."_ Arawn was a sadist, and would stop at nothing to get his fill of blood.

_"I am a demon and have never had need for it before."_ Soubi on the other hand just likes the adrenaline of the fight.

_"Well, this is going to be our first, so tread carefully. We haven't fought shinobi from this world before. I don't think we will be fully prepared."_

Truth be told, I was scared. In that moment I realized why I suppressed my emotions. I suppressed them because I was scared. Scared that I wouldn't get to go home. Scared that when I did go home, it wouldn't feel like my world. Scared that I wouldn't be strong enough to kill the people I have to. Scared of even of what I will become. Scared of what I am.

_"You will be fine. We are with you."_ Soubi tried to console me.

_"I would never allow a soul to hurt you Morrigan."_ Arawn even seemed like he was trying to comfort me.

"Thank you," I whispered into the wind. Smelling the air, I could tell that the man was not really far away. I swung around behind him and drew Arawn in his scythe mode. Going behind the S-ranked Nin, I kicked him in the back. My feet immediately went through the man as he turned into water. Damn it, he made a water clone.

From my right side came a punch, and I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge in time. I prepared myself to teleport, but didn't need to. Soubi with bared fangs tackled the man into another tree. Immediately I went to stab the Nin with Arawn's point, but he dodged to the left at the last moment. Teleporting I went with him and swung Arawn mid-air. Arawn connected but what was left was a wood cut in half. The Nin was nowhere to be seen or even felt. I sniffed the air. He's behind me and building chakra. Soubi went at him first and I followed. The Nin had completed handsigns when we finally caught up to him.

"Water Release: Rising Blast." A tidal wave appeared out of mid-air and came at me and Soubi. I pulled Soubi back into me, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge. Tapping the branch which I stood on with Arawn, a huge black void appeared. I stepped into it and was engulfed in darkness. Teleporting wouldn't have worked within that split second, and the only safe place would be by that Nin. He wasn't very safe.

_"This technique uses way too much life energy."_ Soubi reminded me. _"We have to finish this fight fast."_

_"I know."_ I said tapping Arawn on the floor once again and revealing a picture of the Nin standing on a branch above a sea of water. He was leading us here, because the terrain is a valley and he made his own mini-lake. I jumped through the hold and was immediately five feet from the Nin. Swinging Arawn, we hit a clone and the water joined the mini-lake. A hand grabbed my ankle drug me under water.

Kicking at the Nin, I attempted to get free but my small ten year old body couldn't combat his in the water. Well at least I'm not drowning. He dragged me to the floor of this shinobi-made lake and already had a clone starting handsigns. Suddenly the earth opened up and began to swallow me. Wait, he had an earth affinity too. Fuck.

The earth dragged me under as I tried to stab the man with Arawn. Soon I was engulfed in darkness of the earth, being drowned with water. Okay options, I thought as I tried to see how much life energy and chakra I had. Transforming Arawn and Soubi took a fourth of my chakra, but the last technique almost took all of my life energy. I only get one more transport. Starting to make handsigns, I willed Arawn away. I wouldn't need him for my jutsu. I teleported out of the cave and onto the surface of the water. Punching my hand through the surface I used one of my only ninjutsu techniques that wasn't my bloodline.

"Lightning Style: Electric Overdose Technique." The water became electrified and I knew that the S-ranked Nin was being killed that second. The man wouldn't have survived. This was my strongest lightning technique and was even more powerful because I pushed more chakra than necessary. But the way I was using this technique had repercussions. Through my feet, I was being electrocuted slightly in turn. I could stop most of it, but some bolts got through leaving burns on my body. I pulled my hand out of the water watched as the electricity danced in the water. I jumped into a nearby tree and waited for the lightning to cease. It didn't, but the man's dead body did float to the surface. I immediately went to it and pulled it out.

Jumping with the dead Nin, I placed him on a tree branch and looked in my pack for a seal. I pulled out a pre-made seal and placed it on his head. The body immediately turned to ash and fluttered in the wind. I sighed heavily, my body weak from all the strain I had put on it. That was a close call. It was the closest call to death I experienced since my fifth birthday. I realized I was trembling, but not from the cold water and temperature but from fear. I am scared and my heart is racing. But I'm alive. I'm okay. I'm a Shinigami and I'm okay. Of course if I wasn't a Shinigami, I wouldn't have survived that earth ninjutsu.

"I fucking hate earth ninjutsu." Sitting down I pulled out my Bingo book and scroll. Crossing out the pictures in both the book and the scroll, I realized I didn't have to suppress my emotions any longer. I didn't have to be afraid, because everything would be alright in the end. If it wasn't alright then it wasn't the end of things. By becoming strong, I would make sure everything was alright. I looked to the next picture on the scroll. It showed a picture of a woman with some more information than the last: ANBU from Kumogakure, been seen in Water country on surveillance and information gathering, skilled in assassinations, torture and information gathering, genjutsu none, taijutsu ANBU-level, A-ranked earth ninjutsu. I laid my head down and almost screamed at the sky.

"No more fucking earth ninjutsu."

I was so proud of myself. After that first fight, I learned a lot about myself. Mostly that I had been repressing a very funny personality which contained many dirty jokes and hot temper. I was afraid sometimes, but controlling the fear got better over time. My emotions at times had their way with me and I could literally lose myself for days in my mind. Sometimes I thought how I wasn't really mentally stable. Being alone for a year and a half, I was left to the mercy of my own mind.

Soubi and Arawn were probably the only things that kept me sane. I would sometimes feel myself slip into this darkness, and I didn't know how to get out. They called to me and I would wake up and see that a week had passed. The longest I was in this state was maybe a month. I didn't have to sleep and I couldn't die from natural causes, so I was just suspended in coma. I have wanted to ask Boss about this, and I am—now actually.

Over the year and half span since Boss had so kindly dropped me in Water country—without a map—I had taken care of everyone on my hit list. I hadn't been able to meet with him for a month, so I started bounty hunting. It wasn't really anything that big of a deal. I would take on the jobs even hunter-Nins were scared of taking. They paid a pretty penny and I was saving up to buy a silver katana.

Waiting in the world between worlds, I paced back and forth in the white space. The room—if you could call it that—was the same as ever with its whiteness and white couch. Boss added a white coffee table over the years with a white shag rug. Boss was late and I was getting worried. He normally didn't take this long. Suddenly a white light engulfed the area and I closed my eyes. Upon opening them I saw Boss, the same as usual in a white toga.

"Morrigan, aren't you early?" Boss smiled at me and went to sit on the couch.

"Different world time remember." Not wanting to sit on the couch, I made my way to the rug a few feet from the couch and sat.

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry my dear. You know the war going on in World C is horrible and we've had to take on a lot of jobs."

"I know, Arash and Akane hate what the war is doing to the people. Lily and Antonio on the other hand don't really care, saying, 'well it's their own choices'." I had kept in touch with my family, telling them about my adventures. I had even gone home once a few months ago. Lily cut my hair, while Akane had mended all my clothing. Antonio of course got tickets for a classic rock concert with R.E.O Speedwagen and Foreigner. I even got a new bow for my violin from Akash. They really do spoil me.

"Ah, I remember them telling me, you visited a couple of months ago." Boss summoned some tea and offered me some. I politely declined the drink, never knowing where it came from.

"Yep, we had fun." I played with bottom of my cloak. I hadn't yet grown into it yet. I didn't think I would ever. I would be lucky if I even get to five feet in height.

"Well I am sorry to tell you that we don't have anymore missions for you." If I had tea, I would have spit it out.

"Come again."

"We don't have any exterminations in World N at this time."

"What? What the fuck do you mean no more? There are always more!"

"In this world there actually isn't. It takes care of itself in balancing normally."

"So what the fuck am I going to do?"

"You could live there. I don't think it wise for you to leave just yet. Besides transfers can't happen with only two balancers in the world. You would have to create an apprentice so you could leave."

"So I'm just supposed to hang out? This isn't what I was meant to do! I'm supposed to keep the world in balance by killing people and I can't just stop." My life is a lie. This isn't my ninja nindo. Why does my life keep changing so much? I used to be so sure of myself. I had my emotions suppressed. I lived to kill. I wasn't afraid of anything. Now here I am, my emotions hard to control, being afraid, not being able to kill, and I was lost in who I really was. I rubbed my temples.

"It's okay Morrigan. Things change, as well as people. It is a form of all paths. Even Shinigami change. I changed from a hundred years ago, just as I changed before that and before that. Everything will be alright."

"Everything will be alright?" My voice was small and I knew I need Boss's reassurance to go on.

"Yes. I promise." I didn't know who I was anymore. I didn't know what to do.

_"We are going to live in World N and continue to be bounty hunters."_ Soubi was trying to start us off on at least a path.

_"Yes, we will go on being shinobi in that world and be like we were except killing for ourselves."_ Arawn just wanted to kill things, but he was trying to help.

"Hey Boss?" I remembered I had to ask him about the darkness in my mind and getting lost in it.

"Hm?" I looked up to Boss and saw him waiting patiently.

"Do you ever get lost in your mind? Like you think or begin to feel so heavily and then everything turns black?"

"No, why does this happen often?"

"It happens every now and then, but sometimes it takes a long time for me to find myself." I didn't think this made any sense, but Boss seemed to know something.

"I suspect it is from when you died. A part of you died that day, and it wants to be rejoined with you. It can't come to you, because you're already complete with Soubi. But you can go to it. It's very troubling. How do you get out?"

"Soubi and Arawn call to me, and sometimes I hear it but I don't want to leave."

"Well, when this happens again, you have to come back to yourself. If you don't I suspect you would be lost forever." I took all this information in. Becoming a Shinigami was so damn hard, and I just had to be the anomaly in this world. Lost in thoughts I remembered that the damn Mizukage wanted to talk to me.

"Well Boss. I have to go. The Mizukage wanted to see me, something about a guy who she needs killed or something. I don't know, she's batshit crazy sometimes." I got up and summoned Arawn in his weapon form and Soubi in wolf form.

"Bye Morrigan, until we meet again." Boss smiled at me, but I could tell he was worried about me.

"I'll be fine. You promised that I would." Picturing the Mizukage tower in my head, I arrived at the front door. Passing through and heading up, I was waved in by countless ANBU and secretaries. This place was a maze.

_"They made it that way purposely." _

_"I know that Soubi! Geez, you treat me like I'm an idiot or something!"_ Arawn chuckled and I knew he was going to say that I was but the mental face I gave him shut him up.

Coming to large double doors, I knocked gently. A feminine voice called me in from the other side and I entered. The office was bare except a large wooden desk a dark cherry color. Behind the desk sat the Mizukage in her blue dress and elaborate hairstyle only showing one eye. Her eye-patched body guard stood to her right. He wore the jounin uniform complete with Mist flak jacket.

"You wanted to see me lady?" There were three other ANBU in the office, I deduced after a long sniff. "And might I say a little over kill with three ANBU and precious little Patchy in the corner."

"We just like taking precautions dear."

"And this not even being your office, is a very large precaution if I do say so myself." I knew this wasn't her normal office. I would never be allowed in that office, not even being a Nin from this village. The Mizukage threw her head back and laughed.

"Very nice. I wouldn't expect anything less from the Shinigami's wolf huntress." She laughed again and I waited patiently for her to finish. "Well, down to business I suppose. I have a certain S-ranked Nin who has been a bear to catch. My hunter-Nins either come back empty handed or without hands. He is very talented in evasion and I don't want my precious men getting hurt."

"I guess that's where I come in. Screw the bounty hunter, save your people. I get it." I sighed and rubbed my temples feeling a headache approaching. "So how much is it? Where's the file?"

"Here it is. I am willing to pay you what it says in the Bingo book for him." Patchy crossed the room with a file in his hands. I took a look at it. The bounty would be for twenty million and would be enough for my new katana, but not the scabbarb. Great, just great. Average S-ranked specs were included and I was willing to take it except for one small detail.

"Where's the scent patch?"

"There isn't any."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me? I can't do this."

"What the famous Shinigami's wolf—"

"I don't keep the fucking wolf for show lady. We track by smell. Do I look like I have fucking magical eyes to you? No scent patch, no track, no job. Goodbye." I turned my back to walk out the room when I heard the Mizukage again.

"I'll make it double." I would be able to buy my katana and scabbard at that price. I might even have money left over to get a hot meal.

"Double?" I turned back around to the woman.

"Yes." She smirked, knowing she caught me.

"Fine, but I better get it all in big bills when I get back. Got it?"

Running through the forest I wondered how everyone was doing. Looking at the map in my hands, I had the distinct feeling I was hopelessly lost.

_"That is because we are. You have been going in circles for almost two hours."_ The golden-blond wolf to my right spoke into my head.

_"Why the hell hadn't you told me this before? We could have caught this asshole, collected the reward, and hit the sack before the sun set!"_ I growled mentally back at him. Sometimes these wolves were just not helpful.

_"Because when we had been trying to tell you, you had told us in such a lady-like voice, 'to shut the fuck up'"_ The black wolf on my left put so dryly, I was left to wonder if that was a joke or not. Looking at the red eyes of the black wolf, I realized it definitely wasn't a joke.

_"Sorry, you guys know I'm a little crabby when these people are harder to track down."_ I mentally apologized. I felt a breeze go through my short white hair and rustle through the trees.

_"That is why we told you to never take a bounty if they didn't have a scent patch."_ They both said this in eerie unison and realized they had been spending too much time together.

_"But it was sooooo much money and I wanted that new katana soooo badly,"_ I whined not acting at all like my normal self. I must be really tired. When was the last time we slept? Maybe three weeks ago. Yep, it was definitely time for some sleep. I groaned when I realized I couldn't sleep now. I didn't have enough food to sleep then wait another week to find the general area this bastard was in.

_"Okay, so you guys want to help me or do you guys want to return because we can't waste any more time. Besides you guys are next to useless right now."_ They started to argue when I told them this, but they knew it was true. Soubi returned while Arawn transformed into weapon mode.

Running again I turned my thoughts to why a missing-nin from Mist would be near fucking fire country. I mean come on, seriously you're going to cross the ocean to get here instead of going up towards snow country. No one is going to look for you in snow! It is fucking impenetrable and no one attacks snow for a reason. Maybe they just wanted to see the trees. I wanted to see the trees.

So here I am, doing bounty work, because I have no more money, for the Mizukage. That damn woman has way too many missing-nin for my taste. I was stupid for taking a bounty for someone who would take at least three months to track, not including his little side trip to Fire country. So here I am four months later looking for a missing-nin in a country I have never been to, without a scent patch, low on food, low on sleep, and lost as fuck. Yay, Morrigan.

I stopped running and smelled the air. I'm so fucking lost, I hate taking bounties right now, it's not worth it. At least I have a really cool Bingo book name in Mist. People tremble in fear at my name: the Shinigami's wolf huntress. Yep, thanks to the wolves I hang around with, the giant-ass scythe, and my eyes, I'm the Shinigami's wolf huntress. Wait was that a scent other than trees? I was thinking way too hard.

_"Weren't you trying to catch the scent?"_

_"Sorry. Distracted Soubi."_ I told the wolf demon as he began to laugh at what he would call my stupidity.

I smelled the air again. It smells human. But this human has spent a lot of time without a home. The home he came from is always moist but there is a hint of sea water on him. He went across the sea. Bingo, it's our guy boys. Get ready.

I tracked the scent anxious to get him and then go to sleep. I wouldn't have to worry about him struggling. I never took anyone alive. Getting close to the scent I pulled Arawn off my back. The scythe hummed in delight at the idea of shedding blood. Feeling the psychotic smile that always lined my face when I was hunting, I began to run faster.

_"Do you smell the stress? He knows we're getting close."_ I heard Soubi tell me. I let him out and he ran to my left side. He was anxious also. It had been a long time since we felt the rush of the hunt.

_"I know. He is extremely strong though, so don't be fooled. He probably thinks it's a hunter-nin."_ Victims were always surprised when they turned to face me. They all thought I was a harmless little girl. I played the act of harmless little girl well, but this twelve year old was far from harmless.

* * *

**So today, I got my first follower for this story (squeals) Totes thanks. I really liked this chapter. Especially the convo with Mei. Anyway thank you to everyone who reads. Luvs you lots.**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	7. So, You're Delusional?

"**I want to grow a flower for every time someone tells me "F*** you." Then I'll go back to that person and pin the flower on their lapel in a gesture of friendship. And while they are looking down on it in astonishment, I'll bunch up my knuckles and punch them in the face."**

― **Jarod Kintz**_**, I Want To apply for a job at our country's largest funeral home, and then wear a suit and noose to the job interview.**_

* * *

I smelled the man's scent stop and knew he was going to try to ambush us. I turned slightly to the right to circle him, coming at his back. He wouldn't expect me to curve, they never did. Behind him I set Soubi to go in on him first to knock him into the clearing. The golden wolf jumped at a high branch and bit into a large man's shoulder.

I watched as they tumbled to the ground and quickly followed after them. I leapt into a wide clearing that had a small stream running through it. Great more water for the Nin from Water country. Well it could be worse, he could have an earth nature affinity and I would be royally screwed.

When I hit the ground I saw the Mist-nin being circled by Soubi. The man was large, clocking in around six feet with a fair amount of muscle on him. He was dressed in black shinobi pants and a black t-shirt. In his right hand he held three shuriken. Throwing them at Soubi, he relaxed thinking they would hit him. When Soubi teleported to my side, I saw the man turn with a shocked expression. I laughed—hard.

"Did you really think that stupid little attack would take my wolf out? You have got to be kidding me! You're an S-ranked criminal? Ha, that Mizukage is losing her marbles." The man's shocked face transformed into a scowl. He lunged at me with a kunai he withdrew during my speech. I merely blocked with the staff of my scythe, not batting an eyelash.

He disengaged and began running through handsigns.

"Water Release: Water Cannon Technique." A large beam of boiling water came at me. I smiled my psychotic smile and ran right, dodging the technique. The beam of water followed me and almost caught up when I jumped into the trees. Masking my chakra, I ran through the trees so I positioned myself behind him again. I jumped down and swung Arawn. He made contact and I knew it was too easy. Feeling the blade go through, the clone then turned to water.

Kunai then came raining down on me. But as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Soubi who had jumped into the trees with me found the real Mist-nin and pushed him off the branch he was standing at. The Nin fell to the space in front of me, readying himself for water clones. I had seen enough of the handsigns to know what he was up to. I grabbed Arawn in my right hand and tapped him twice on the ground. A small hole of darkness formed and I dropped him in. I didn't need him in this fight.

With the Mist-nin's jutsu complete, four clones rushed me with kunai in their hands. I grabbed my own kunai and flipped back sticking to the base of a tree. The two clones who hadn't thrown kunai came at me. I kicked the first away before he had time to swipe and blocked the second's attack. Reinforcing the kunai with my bloodline of blue fire, it broke his kunai in half and struck him in the chest. The other two clones came at me and I jumped to the ground, seeing the real Mist-nin being circled by Soubi.

Soubi could handle his own against most Nin, but not one that was an S-ranked. A breeze went through the forest and I smelled other shinobi in the area. With this realization I knew I had to finish this quick. I threw my kunai at one of the clones dispersing him. This left me open to the second's attack, if I was a normal shinobi. But I wasn't very normal was I? I teleported using my Shinigami power behind him and kicked him in the butt. The clone pathetically turned into water. Turning to the real Nin, I willed for Arawn and he appeared in my hands. The Mist-nin was finishing some handsigns and I knew it wasn't good. I pulled Soubi back into me just as he finished.

"Water Release: Water Shark Beast Technique."

I knew that fucking stream wasn't going to be good. From the stream came a huge-ass water shark which then proceeded to attack me, teeth razor sharp. I dodged with my scythe in hands, but knew I couldn't keep this up for long. Instead of dealing with this stupid ass shark any longer, I teleported behind the Mist-Nin and promptly swung my scythe. Arawn then decapitated the man, the wound not spilling any blood. I reinforced the attack with my bloodline and it cauterized the wound on contact. The shark then turned into water and fell on the ground where I had left it.

"I hate when I track down someone for months, then the battle lasts only, like five minutes. I didn't come here to be interrupted."

I peered at the trees to my left. Smelling the air again, there were only two high-level shinobi. I grabbed the Mist-Nin's head and proceeded to seal it in a scroll in my pack.

"Why don't you just come out? I know you're fucking there!" I was getting cranky. I didn't get to play with my prey and now these guys are barging in on my precious sleep time.

_ "Where the fuck are they from?"_ I asked Soubi and Arawn, standing alone in the clearing.

_"I believe that since we are in Fire country that would make them Konahagakure ANBU. They could probably tell that two high-level shinobi passed close to their village. I can smell the village close to here, and we passed a guard station two nights ago."_ Soubi always could smell things better than I could.

_"Why didn't you tell me there was a guard station?"_ I asked Soubi.

_"We did, but you were too busy wondering if we should stop and write Akane." _The damn scythe said that way too dryly for it to be a joke. Just then two ANBU popped into the clearing.

"What are you doing in Fire country?" The first ANBU asked this with a voice dripping with suspicion. His mask was that of a dog, maybe a hound. Yep, when he turned to look at his comrade, it looked like a hound.

"Who wants to know?" I asked cheekily. My outfit probably didn't help my situation. All they could probably see was a dark purple hooded cloak, black mask covering the left side of my face like the phantom of the opera, yellow eyes and white hair. Of course it was all rolled up into a twelve year old girl's body who probably weighed no more than 85 pounds and was four and a half feet.

"You are trespassing within the area that surrounds Konahagakure. We have been given permission to exterminate anyone who we deem a threat to the village. So, tell us your purpose in Fire country." The comrade of the first seems to have a stick up his ass. What is his mask? Probably something stupid like a cat. Yep, it's a kitty cat.

"Well if you must know, I was tracking down this missing-Nin," I gestured to the headless body, "by orders of the Mizukage."

"Are you a hunter-Nin? Where is your mask? Where are your papers?" The hound was still suspicious. What did they think I went around having battles for fun?

"Alas I am not a hunter-Nin. I'm not even a shinobi or the Mist, merely a poor bounty hunter trying to make ends meet. It really is a hard life you know. You guys get it so easy: you get missions weekly, an apartment, and a stipend if you're really high up there. I haven't slept in a bed in years. Except for that one night I spent in an inn, but there were bugs. I ended up on the roof. So much more comfortable actually." I was starting to try to be funny, but this was a tough crowd. Oh, how I changed in the course of ten years. Hell how I changed from when I was in World C!

"Do you have papers?" Kitty cat is getting impatient, oh boohoo.

"Bounty hunter papers, my Mist bingo book, and a letter from Mei. So yes I do have papers." I waited a long while just staring at them from across the clearing. I had the sudden urge to run up the tree to my left for old time's sake when I first met my family in Oregon. But somehow my brain tells me that they won't be that impressed. Holding myself back, I waited until one of them asked me to hand over my papers. Suddenly Hound had a kunai to my neck. I didn't even flinch. It was so predictable, besides I could have teleported out of the way but I didn't want him to think he got me.

"Give me your papers." Kitty cat was giving orders having come to my other side and held his hand out.

"You could say please you know." The kunai at my neck pushed in a little further and I could feel blood run down into my shirt.

"Now." Is someone in heat? I hear Soubi snicker at this. At least someone appreciates my humor.

"Here." I reached into my left sleeve, kunai in my neck, and handed over my papers. Kitty cat looked over them for some time before nodding to Hound. Looks like Hound is on top in this relationship. Kitty cat handed my papers back to me and the kunai was gone. The men stood before me as I replaced them in my sleeve.

"You need to come with us to see the Hokage." Hound was still suspicious? Whatever I might as well go. I could get some food with some of the money I saved up from the last bounty.

"Sure, I could go for some food." I released Arawn from his scythe mode and let both him and Soubi out. The other two Nin jumped, armed when two wolves appeared out of thin air.

"Oh stop it. They don't like being inside for long anymore, besides they don't trust you very much. Something like how you don't trust me." I sniffed the air and found the way they had come and jumped into the trees. I felt Hound and Kitty cat follow me. They wanted to watch the way I acted, besides there's three of us and two of them. They took up a very strategic spot which would make Antonio proud.

We were running for maybe an hour until I saw the city wall. Slowing to a walk when we were near the city gates, I noticed Hound and Kitty cat stand next me pushing the wolves to the outer edge. The wolves not liking this swapped with them and brought up the rear. Hound talked to some guys at the gate and we were allowed in. The whole time I was thinking about all the food I was smelling.

"Smells good, huh boys? Wouldn't you want something prepared for us rather than hunting for deer or fish like we normally do?" Soubi and Arawn gave a wolfy grunt of approval. It was true we got the freshest meat while hunting, but being made a meal would be treat.

The walk to the Hokage's office didn't take much longer after that. Hound and Kitty cat went into the office first leaving me to sit outside with my wolves. They sat on the chairs next to me, much to the secretary's dismay. When Kitty cat finally opened the door, he gestured for me to go in, and left. I noticed Hound was to the right of a really old man when I walked into the office. The old many smoked a pipe and had more age spots than I had scars. In short he was really, really old with a shit-load of scars.

"What is one so young, doing as a bounty hunter?" he asked this, before filling the air where Hound was with more tobacco smoke. Man that stuff smelled nasty. My wolves could barely stand it. Realizing he wanted me to dispatch my wolves, I didn't have them return like I normally would. I instead played it like I wasn't really interested.

"Why would a Hokage want to see a bounty hunter working for another village in his office?" I retorted. The old man smiled at me, but I could see wariness in his eyes.

"I asked you first." He said trying to get me to act like a child and get fed up with him.

"I asked you second." I turned to examine my black nails.

"Well I guess you could say, that I was curious. How could a twelve year old defeat someone who had to be an A-ranked missing-Nin so easily?" he exhaled more of that ridiculous smoke. I was getting fed up with him. I was hungry and sleepy and didn't want to be here.

"Look gramps, I don't care if you were fucking curious. I'm a bounty hunter. I do my job then I get some money to live by day to fucking day. I don't really want to be here talking to you, and I definitely don't want to smell that nasty ass-smoke. It is seriously causing me to have a headache and I ain't even near it. Lastly it wasn't an A-ranked Nin, it was an S-ranked Nin, get your fucking facts straight." I was out of breath and for a moment the Hokage looked stunned. So did Hound, but with the mask it wasn't the same feeling. Then the old fart started to laugh. He laughed and laughed until his eyes began to tear.

"You are quite something young man—"

"I'm a girl. Don't let the cloak, mask or haircut fool you. I'm a chick." I was slightly offended at this, but would let it slide because it wasn't the first time.

"Well, you are quite the kuniochi. I would like you to become a shinobi here at our village." I blanched at this.

_"Did he just want us to be a Konahagakure shinobi?"_ I asked Soubi and Arawn.

_"Yes,"_ Arawn said puzzled like me.

_"He probably sees us as too young to have alliances and wishes to use us to benefit his village."_ Soubi was at least helping me figure this out, Arawn was as confused as me.

"Look you old man, I don't know what the catch is, but I don't want to join your village." I might as well tell him outright.

"Oh, it wasn't an offer. It was an order."

"What?"

"You were caught entering our borders without permission, and even as a bounty hunter you're not allowed to hunt without our permission."

"This is complete bullshit. You just want me to use my skills so you could benefit. I am a lone wolf, a free spirit, a child of Shinigami. I'm not supposed to have a headband or belong to a village."

"Well I am sorry, but it is either this or death because of your actions. . ."

"I hate you."

"Well those are strong words."

"I don't care."

"You don't have to care." I was silent for many moments wondering if I should teleport back to Mist and leave this crazy geezer. Damn, I was too tired and hungry to make it back fully. For all you know I could end up in the world between worlds or worse lost. I could fight, but again tired and not up to full capacity, and I could tell Hound was almost twice as good as the Mist-Nin. So, there was no escape. Great. Might as well make my requests.

"What will you make me do for you? I only do eradication of missing-Nins and assassinations. I also want a very large monthly allowance. Something for a small home on the West side. In addition, I work alone. A-L-O-N-E. Not on a team, squad, pair, quartet. Nothing with other people. I hate other people for various reasons. Take for instance the actions of a certain old-ass Hokage who is forcing me to stay and work for their village or die." The damn Hokage smirked knowing that he hooked me. Damn him.

"Well you will have to be evaluated, at another time of course. On whether you work with a squad I don't know, but I will have you join a genin team to train with to strengthen your outlook on people. They're probably going to be formed in about a month's time, so you won't be pushed in immediately. I will give you a large monthly allowance for this month only, after that you will live off your mission's salary and a very small stipend."

I walked over to the large desk and stretched my hand out to the Hokage. Hound reached for a blade, then the wolves growled, the Hokage smirked, and I merely smiled psychotically. If this Hokage wanted me to be his pretty, pretty little kuniochi, he is gonna be in for some hell.

"Well you got any money? I'm starving." The Hokage smirked again and reached into the drawer to his right. He pulled out a couple of bills and handed them to me. I snatched them from him and grinned a sly grin at him.

"You got any listings for houses? Something small and for sale. I don't like the idea of having to rent. Besides I got enough dough from the past month. I was gonna buy a beautiful katana with the savings, but I suspect I'm not allowed out of the village." I pocketed the money from him. He muttered 'dough' not understanding what slang it was and went into the left drawer. He pulled out a bunch of listings and started to look through them.

"For now, you are not allowed out of the village. If you want to buy a house, I'm sure there are some small ones near the Hokage Monument. Maybe—"

"The hospital."

"What?"

"I want to be near the hospital." The Hokage looked at me suspiciously at that. I wouldn't blame him. He probably thought I would want to take out all the iryo-Nin and wounded shinobi.

"Why would want to be near the hospital? Are you a trained medic or plan to be?"

"No. I work by killing people, not preserving them. I am thinking, that if I were to attack a village, I would want to take out the hospital first. Best to kill those who could fix you up, than kill you and have others fix the wounded I just targeted. So when that happens, I wanna be there to kill as many invaders as possible."

"It's good to see you thinking about protecting the village." There was a thick silence as the Hokage smiled at me and returned to the listings.

"I don't want to protect the village. I want to kill people." Might as well let him know now that I'm not the most mentally stable. The Hokage looked at me with a look I couldn't quite place—first it was shock, then disgust, then maybe pity.

"Well, then. I hope you do learn to value the bonds between people. You see like a person who has had a hard life, and haven't had many close bonds to yourself. Therefore you see killing people as a way to protect yourself, rather than depending on others to protect you." The Hokage looked sad. Hound on the other hand tensed, when he heard I was slightly a homicidal maniac. The Hokage handed me the listings and I stuffed those into my pack.

"Whatever. Just remember, that you did this to yourself. And don't mind having someone tail me, I'll just loose them anyway. Might as well put your ANBU to good use." I immediately turned on my heel and exited the room. My wolves stared threats at the Hokage and Hound and followed me out.

I left the Hokage tower in a rush, knowing that there was an ANBU trailing me. I figured I would go find a place to sleep. It was already sunset, the sky a beautiful shade of orange. The air was unusually hot for me, spending most of my life in Oregon then in Mist. I hadn't seen the rain in a month since coming to Fire country and I was a little saddened by this.

_"Do we want to pay for an inn boys or can we struggle sleeping in a tree one more night_?" I asked the boys mentally. I could smell Hound nearby and realized he would be my tail. This is gonna be hard to lose him. If he's anything like his mask, he goes by smell too.

_"We can return inside. I highly doubt that Hokage would attack a twelve year old in her sleep."_ Arawn was right to a certain extent, but that didn't mean he was totally true.

"_Yes, but we didn't give him a reason to trust us."_ Soubi knew it would be dangerous for us, because we had a first bad impression and showed we were leaning closer to homicidal tendencies than others.

_"Okay, Arawn will be out in scythe mode. Soubi you'll stay in since you can't mask your smell and I can."_ I found a small park with a bench and decided I would take off my cloak. I was starting to sweat and didn't really need it here. It would give away my identity faster than it helped. Underneath I had my regular shinobi outfit. Purple skirt with black leggings that went to the middle of my legs, black mesh armor with long sleeves and purple tube top, converse with bandages on the rest of my legs and my usual black half mask.

I put my cloak in a scroll and took out my scythe holster I had bought a while back. Soubi immediately went in me and I could feel my eyes turn ever so slightly yellower. Soubi was really tired and wouldn't be able to transform for a long time. I transformed Arawn and put him in his holster with his blade pointing right but handle leaning left. Then I slung my back over my left shoulder careful not to catch it on Arawn. I could feel Hound watching me and knew he was a little startled with the wolves gone and a scythe appearing. Memorizing the trees and the area so I could use my last teleport here, I went all the way across town to find some food.

Konoha was really a beautiful village. There were so many colors and the people weren't the meanest. Though when they did see I didn't have a headband many turned cold. Guess outside Nin aren't appreciated. Oh well, I was used to the strange looks. In one area were a bunch of shinobi, all of them with white eyes like they were blind. Must be an ocular bloodline, and I must be near their compound. I went around for a long time, leaving my scent on everything I touched.

_"You really want to lose this ANBU don't you?"_ Soubi was also leaving his scent with mine to further confuse Hound. Arawn who had spoken didn't really get it, but went along with it.

_"Yah, I actually want to sleep without him watching. It would be very unfortunate should I wake up and decapitate him."_ Arawn laughed at this.

All the way across town I found a cute café with homemade onigiri. I haven't had rice in so long, I could nearly drool at the window. I went inside and purchased half a dozen onigiri with various fillings. For the drink I went with some iced green tea with extra sweetner. It wasn't that I liked things sweet, but merely I hated green tea. I paid with half of the Hokage's money I had put in my weapon's pouch when I changed. Then figuring I would make sure I would lose Hound, I went off to Hokage monument. It was already dark and the lights from the streets made the village look even more beautiful.

"Are you going to tour the whole village tonight or actually find an inn?" Hound asked as I ate my plain onigiri. I was sitting on the first Hokage's head and was letting my scent go into the village every time a breeze blew by.

"I don't know. I was wondering how good of a tail you were and figured maybe I could lose you." I popped the rest of the onigiri into my mouth and took a swig of green tea to wash it down.

"Well you haven't been doing a good job of trying to loose me. You really are just a child." Hound was sounding like a pretentious asshole right now. I stood up, dusting myself off and clutched my bag of onigiri and drink. I took a long drink and merely stared at him. He was standing a few feet away and looked smug.

"Fuck you." I smiled my psychotic smile and teleported across the village to the park I had seen hours ago. I masked my scent quickly and jumped into the trees. I ran for almost thirty minutes before collapsing in a tall branch near a clearing. That last teleportation totally wiped me out. I sat in the tree and ate the five other onigiri and drank the rest of the green tea.

I was stuffed and fell asleep rather quickly. That night I dreamt terrible dreams of the Okinawa clan and the Mizukage. In every scenario I died or couldn't save someone. The dreams later became black nothingness and I finally stopped the restless fit. It was around ten when I slipped into my slumber and I was awakened six hours later by cursing.

Opening my eyes I saw that the sun had yet to rise and there was a light darkness over the land. I smelled the air thinking it would be Hound, and was pleasantly surprised that he was nowhere to be found. Instead I smelled the scent of a boy. He was okay with hygienic behavior, was about my age, and was bleeding lightly. But the odd thing about his scent was that he had a mix of light and dark. Soubi would make fun of me when I said that he smelled like sunshine and misery in the rain, but that was how it was.

The cursing got louder and I realized that he was right below me. He probably had been for hours, but I was so out of it, I would have never noticed. Figuring I shouldn't get in the way of his business, I pulled out the listings the Hokage gave me and went over them in the dark. I could actually see the paper with my wolf eyes quite well and was getting along fine, until I lost concentration for the millionth time. That boy doesn't shut up does he?

"Oi," I yelled from my branch to the ground below, "will you shut the fuck up. Some people are trying to figure out the meaning of life here."

"AAAAAAHHHH. Who is that? Is it an enemy Nin? Oh my god, what if it's an invasion? Or a ghost? It's a ghost isn't it?! Don't hurt me or eat me, I promise that I won't taste good!" The voice was starting to scream and was losing more and more sense. I rolled my eyes and put the listings back into my weapons pouch. Jumping down I found a hysterical blond haired, blue-eyed kid practically rolling on the ground. What he was wearing was even weirder. It was bright orange jumpsuit, green goggles and blue shinobi sandals.

"Will you shut the fuck up? I was tired and you woke me up. What are your trying to do anyways? Make up a new swear word or something?" I couldn't tell if this kid was lost or a really, really bad shinobi trying to train in the middle of nowhere. Maybe he's really bad and doesn't want anyone to know. He first looked shocked, but then the expression changed to embarrassed. Then he was angry and suspicious.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. It was a valid question. I was a shinobi for sure, with the clothes and scythe at my back. "Are you an intruder? What village are you from?"

"Oh shut up. I'm technically from your village right now, thanks to your stupid Hokage. He's forcing me to become a Konaha Nin." I looked around the clearing and saw shuriken lining the floor. "You trying to train? With what dodging, because if you were aiming, your worse than shit." He put his hand behind his head and let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Yah, I'm trying to train to hit that tree over there." He pointed at a tree. I looked at it. There were no shurinken in it. He fucking sucked. "And who are you to say that the Hokage is stupid. He's the strongest shinobi in the whole village! I'm going to become the Hokage someday and show everyone else how great I am! Dattebayo!" I was silent for some time as the kid smiled and gave me a thumbs up. He was just too peppy. And becoming Hokage will be hard when your aim, even if the distance is really long, sucks. He's crazy.

"So what you're saying is that you are a terrible shinobi and are delusional at the same time."

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**Totally don't know what is going on with quote but I thought it was funny. I got a second follower. Thank you! I'm too tired to really write any more. Well we all are going to meet Naruto in the next chapter, but I don't know how smooth that is going to go. I don't know what to name this chapter, but I'll figure it out. Anyways review, follow, fave, all that jazz. Loves yous lots!  
**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	8. I Never Make Bets I Won't Win

"**The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."**

― **Willie Nelson**

"**The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."**

― **William Arthur Ward**

* * *

"Whhhhhaaaaa! I am not a terrible shinobi, and I am definitely not delusional! Why would you say that?" the kid screamed at me. I can feel a migraine coming on. Maybe I'm just hungry and tired. I should really go fix that. But first let me get the cold hard truth through this poor sap's thick skull.

"Well the way I see it, if you can't even hit that tree from this distance, you really suck. In addition to that, when you first saw me, a good shinobi would have asked for my papers. Not that I'm lying about the whole Hokage situation, but you should really not take a person's word. Lastly if you are ever going to become Hokage, you better be from one of the most influential families around here. You aren't a prodigy or genius, actually you are quite stupid, so the only way you'll get in is if your some heir with lots of money and experience in politics." I said this in probably the calmest manner I could ever muster. If I wanted to get this kid to shut up, I had to talk in really slow words.

"You're stupid, and I'm going to become Hokage no matter what! I don't need a fancy name to help me along. I'll become a great shinobi through hard work and dedication. Dattebayo!" Again he gave me a smile and a thumbs up. I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm.

"Well good luck to you kid. I'm glad your life at least will be somewhat happy through your denial. I better get going. Hound is probably getting chewed out right now, and I have to get him to show me around to see houses. See ya." I turned and put my hand up to wave a goodbye. As I'm walking away, I feel the whoosh of air behind me and know the kid just through a shuriken at me. Teleporting behind him, I put up a senbon to his neck.

"Wow." The kid was still staring at where I just had been.

"What the fuck are trying to pull? You seriously are that desperate for attention? Maybe your just a sore loser cause I told you the truth?" I pushed the senbon into his throat a little to snap him out of his stupor.

"Sorry," he screamed though he didn't seem all that sorry. "I just wanted to see how good of a shinobi you were. I had an idea that you might be able to help me, you know, become a better shinobi. Since you said that I would have to be a genius or from a big family, I figured you knew what it took."

Was this kid for real? He just met me, and he wants me to train him. How did he even know I would dodge that? Plus I just lectured him in how I could be lying to him about being here legally. Didn't anyone ever teach him about stranger danger? This kid's parents really do have a lot on their plate.

"Kid where are your parents? Are they not shinobi?" I released the kid from the senbon chokehold and moved around so I was facing him. I put my hands on my hips and appeared like a mother lecturing a child. "If they aren't shinobi, they should at least have taught you about stranger danger and shit like that."

"Ummm," the kid for the first time since I met him became silent, "well, I kinda don't have any parents."

"Oh." Well this is awkward. I feel extremely bad for him, but somewhere inside my soul knew that feeling. Yes, I was adopted into a family, but I was an orphan. We were the same.

"Hey, its fine. You didn't know." He tried to shrug the whole thing off, but I could tell this depressed him.

"Alright I'll train you." What the fuck did I just say? Well there's no going back now.

"What?"

"I'll train you, but at a price."

"Wait, you'll train me!" the kid started jumping up and down. He was so loud. "Yahoo! Thank you so much! Wait, I don't even know your name."

"Okay first lesson. When you meet strange people in the forest don't talk to them. Even worse don't ask them if their shinobi and take their word that they are. People lie, they always do and they always will. Got it?" I might as well start with the basics with this kid. He needs someone to tell him these things. He stopped jumping and stood eagerly before me. He was slightly taller so I had to look up. Man was I short.

"Yes ma'am."

"Second don't call me that. The name's Morrigan. You will use only Morrigan, no Morrigan-san, chan, sensei, and shishui, none of that crap. Don't have a last name so Morrigan is it. What's yours bub?" I would hate to walk around with a kid who was bigger than me calling me sensei. How weird would that be?

"Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Please to meet you." I froze dead in my thoughts. Wait, hold up and back it up about ten steps. Uzumaki? Shit now I really have to help him. In some karmic payback to Akane, I guess I have to look after this kid. Poor kid. Now he's really stuck with me. At least now I know I can trust him. Suddenly my vision was blurry and I realized that Naruto was waving his hand in front of my face.

"Hey Morrigan, you in there?" I batted his hand away. How long had I been standing there? Whatever, might as well get started.

"So, Naruto Uzumaki, are you ready to help me?" I asked in a voice that said I had second agendas.

"Help you? With what?" he asked, clearly confused.

"I said I would train you at a price. That price is," I took out the listing for the houses and held them in front of him, "you are going to help me hunt for houses."

"Aaaawwww, but Morrigan, can't we start training. None of the houses are even going to be open at this time." Realizing that he was partially right since the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, I began to think of throwing exercises Lily used to make me do. The wind passed slightly and I reflectively smelled it.

"_Did you smell that?"_ I asked Soubi. I knew even though he wasn't out, he could.

"_It is the ANBU we tried to loose earlier. When you went into your mind, you revealed your scent."_ Damn, now Hound is on his way here.

"Tell you what kid, tomorrow we will begin training, but right now I gotta deal with something. Later today, we'll go house hunting and maybe grab some lunch. Okay?" I didn't want Naruto to think that I would abandon him. I just agreed to be his teacher, and I couldn't go back on my word. Besides something about this loud obnoxious kid made me trust him. Maybe because he's an Uzumaki, but I trusted him before that. Maybe it's just him, because I don't trust anyone but Soubi and Arawn.

"What do you gotta do Morr—"Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence when Hound popped into the clearing. I turned to him, large grin on my face.

"Where the fuck have you been? Were you even trying to find me?" Behind that mask was a face of pure fury. Killer intent was washing off of him in waves and Naruto attempted to hide behind me. He was so much bigger that it wasn't really working.

"The Hokage wants you to take your assessment now." Hound was trying to bury his emotions but it wasn't really working. I figured I would play with him for a little bit.

"Now? But I was going to go get some breakfast and then go to Hokage Monument. It was beautiful up there, the perfect place to lose an ANBU. Don't you think?" I asked innocently. Hound's eye twitched behind the mask.

"Come with me so we can get on with your assessment." Hound turned and started to walk away. I turned to Naruto and ruffled his spiky hair.

"Later today kid, we'll get some lunch. My treat because you're going to spend the rest of the day helping me. Okay?" Naruto attempted to fix his hair, but I knew he was happy with the slight physical contact. I normally don't like touching people but Naruto was different. I could tell he was a special kid and that I had to be his parent and protect him.

"_Why do I feel like I want to trust him enough to know everything?"_ I asked the question to Soubi and Arawn but got no reply.

"Okay, should we meet here or—"Naruto began to ask as I walked away waving a goodbye.

"I'll find you, so go do whatever you want to do. Besides, don't you have school or something?" I knew it was a weekday, so he should be in school 'til three. He probably would ditch halfway through, too excited that he has a teacher.

Following Hound, I went to his side. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, but was still leaking killer intent. He was probably up looking for me all night. Hound began to run through the trees towards a place I had yet to roam. We followed a flowing river and came to the village walls. It was not the longest of journeys but I was hungry and tired, so it felt like forever.

"So how does this thing normally go down? I figure it's going to be a spar or fight but is there something where I have to do all my higher jutsu, because then that's going to get tedious." I waited patiently for Hound to answer but he was giving me the cold shoulder. Fine, I could be a big girl and handle whatever you throw at me. We came to a denser forest with a metallic fence around it. The fence itself was intimidating enough, if not for the sign that was thrown to the side which read, 'Forest of Death'.

"Very original name if I do say so myself." As I said this, the Hokage appeared, hat and all. He smirked at me. How could this man trust me so much to come here alone? I smelled the air. He has four ANBU not including Kitty cat, so much for me thinking he trusts me. In the next second, Kitty cat was next to the Hokage.

"You had Hound worried sick young lady." Like I give a crap. I felt Hound tense at the Hokage's words and smirked up at him. I looked back at the old man and he continued his little speech. "Now as you know, this is the Forest of Death. You will take your assessment here as a survival training against two ANBU—"

"Oh can it be Hound and Kitty cat?" I asked sounding more like a child than ever. I really just wanted to go against them because I didn't want too many people knowing my skills. The Hokage smiled at this as if I really was a child asking for a new toy.

"I suppose you could. Now, the objective of this is that we are going to send ANBU Hound and ANBU Cat into the forest and you shall return with them captured before twelve o'clock. That gives you roughly six hours to get them and return here. In addition to capturing Hound and Cat, you will have to find five scrolls hidden in the forest itself. There is a guard for each scroll, so you will have to fight them also. The forest itself is full of dangers and should not be taken lightly. Do you understand that this test is one of life and death?"

"So if I die, it's not your fault is what you're saying." I said in a cheeky tone. Of course it wouldn't be his fault, I am an S-ranked bounty hunter for crying out loud, and the forest shouldn't put me out of commission.

"In simple terms, yes."

"And if I pass this test, what rank will I be?" I asked extremely curious.

"If you get all the scrolls, you will be at least Jounin rank, but if you also get Hound and Cat you will definitely be ANBU. But to enlist, you must do the training to be considered one officially." Ugh more training?

"I'll make you a bet old man."

"What is that?"

"If I get all five scrolls and Hound and Cat, plus make it back here with an hour to spare, I don't have to train."

"And if you don't."

"If I don't, you get to choose the punishment for me. But be warned that I never make bets I wouldn't win."

"You have yourself a deal young lady. I know you might not know this, but Hound and Cat are highly skilled ANBU."

"I know that, I'm just saying that I'm on another level. They'll never be able to reach me." I was cocky and everyone knew it. But in my heart I knew I had the power to back it up. The Hokage merely smirked the smirk that said I was doomed and he won. I grinned psychotically back at him. Kitty cat made his way to where Hound stood in front of the gates. The Hokage nodded and they both took off into the Forest of Death.

"You are welcome to start," the Hokage said ten minutes after Hound and Kitty cat left. I reached into my pack and pulled out some jerky from a sealing scroll.

"Hell no. I'm starving. Gonna eat some breakfast first." I popped in the first few slices before reaching into a scroll to get some water. The Hokage gaped at my actions. I sat there eating for another hour while the sun completely rose. When I was sure that my food was in my stomach fully, I got up and stretched. Pulling Arawn off the holster, I willed for both him and Soubi to be in wolf mode.

"Well old man, I am gonna head out now. Remember to be here before eleven. Now that I think about it make it ten-thirty." The Hokage was stunned with my actions. I think the first bit of shock was the wolves popping out without the use of handsigns, next were my cocky words. I knew it had to be about an hour and a half into my assessment. Looking at the sun, it was around eight. I ran off into the Forest of Death leaving a shocked Hokage and very confused ANBU squad.

"_So do we want Hound and Kitty cat first or the scrolls?" _I asked the boys. Arawn didn't really care about strategy, but I could count on Soubi to know what to do.

"_We should attempt to get the scrolls. If somehow Hound and Cat disarm us after we have the scrolls and we are unable to restrain them, we will still be Jounin. If we go after Hound and Cat first and somehow lose, we will have nothing to show for it. The first man with the scroll is about a kilometer west. We should head there first, then work coming back around where Hound and Cat lie to the east."_

"_Great. Let's get this shit over with boys, I really want to find a house after this so I could crash."_ They both growled in affirmation. Poor boys were really tired, but had enough energy for this assessment, after our rest last night.

Around two hours later, we had all the scrolls and were making our way to Hound and Kitty cat. The scrolls were easy enough to get. I merely hit their vital points with senbon, making them go into a deep coma. Once they were pulled out, those guys would be good as new. Of course, none of them actually saw us coming and didn't put up any fight. The Hokage would be surprised to see his men had fallen before actually doing any fighting.

"_They set up some traps directly in front of us. Do you want to set them off to alert them we're here or do you want to surprise them?"_ Soubi wanted to merely disarm Hound and Kitty cat without fighting. Arawn wanted to kill them. They both knew I wouldn't just let them go so easy, but I didn't want to kill them.

"_We won't set off the trap, but we will spar a little with them."_ I pulled Arawn into his weapon form and checked my vitals. My chakra was more than three quarters full, having done nothing more than run and transform the wolves. My life energy was a little more than half, not having fully recovered since yesterday. This fight might be a little harder than I expected.

"They are to the right of us, behind a large tree. The tree, because of its smell, isn't natural."

"Perhaps some wood style ninjutsu. I heard from Akane that there was some dude who had both earth and water, transforming it into wood. Maybe he's one of that clan." Great, another guy with earth ninjutsu. Probably Kitty cat, because he appeared to have a stick up his ass. He was just too serious for his own good. I made my way to them, masking both my smell and chakra. Situating myself on a branch above them, I dropped to meet them.

"Hey boys. You miss me?" Immediately kunai came at my head. Dodging it, I looked to Soubi who was doing the same. Looking to where both ANBU were, I noticed that they were getting to some sort of position. They probably had a plan of attack, which wasn't all that surprising to me.

The kunai stopped, and they both started to do handsigns. I called Soubi back into me, not wanting him to go up against a ninjutsu of these guys. Kitty cat ended first and placed the palm of his hand on the floor.

"Wood Release: Alive Burial Technique." The tree branch I had been standing on turned like quick sand, the branch sucking me in. This tree is also that tree he made. Fuck, and it's stealing my chakra. Just as I was starting to get hysterical, Hound had a hand full of lightning. There was the faint chirping of birds as he charged at me. Clutching Arawn to me I teleported behind Hound when he was a foot away from my face. Behind him I kicked his back, making him face plant into the quick sand of a tree.

I jumped back, just to be met with kunai flying at me from Kitty cat. While I was dodging, Kitty cat released the jutsu, letting Hound free. The killer intent from earlier today was again rolling off Hound. I willed Arawn away and started to perform handsigns. Hound came at me with a kunai and I had to make a clone just to finish my hand signs. When done I made my hands into a circle and pointed it towards the two ANBU.

"Blue Fire Release: Killing Beam." From the circle in my hands came a pillar of blue fire. The beam was more than seven feet wide by the time it was going to hit the two men.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall." Damn it. Kitty cat must have been doing handsigns when I was busy with Hound. I called Soubi out and he took an explosive ball of my own creation from my weapons pouch. Keeping the beam as it was, I watched as Soubi teleported behind the wall and teleported back. The bomb of spores went off a second later. The spores weren't really harmful, they merely prepared for a special fuinjutsu genjutsu I created by having them loose some sense of smell and hearing.

Releasing the beam, I saw Kitty cat and Hound come at me from both sides of the wall. Kitty cat had a tanto and Hound a Kunai. I called Arawn out, and immediately went to work blocking their attacks. I had to get Kitty cat close to me, because he had inhaled the most spores. I began to act like I was tired from using too much chakra and started to let them get little hits on me. Small cuts began to litter my skin when I gave a large opening to Kitty cat. Soubi who had teleported away, acting like he returned, bit into Hound's shoulder dragging him back.

Kitty cat went in for what would have been a killing blow, but I teleported to the side of the blade. Still in front of him, I gathered my chakra into my left palm where I had tattooed a special seal. Kitty cat was shocked and couldn't dodge my hand which hit him on the forehead of his mask. After the hit, he jumped back a few feet and readied himself to come at me again. I started to chuckle at him, but didn't have much time to relish in my victory. Hound, who had thrown off Soubi was flying towards me, his hand alight with lightning. I covered mine with blue fire and met his fist.

Goes to say he was surprised when he didn't immediately shred me to pieces. The blue fire contained most of the lightning and forced it onto him. I could tell by the way his other hand searched for a weapon he was getting burned like crazy. My hand was also being electrocuted, but it wouldn't be the first time that had happened. Squeezing a little harder I quickly broke his wrist and teleported to a safe distance. Looking then at Kitty cat who was being circled by Soubi, I figured I'd activate my genjutsu.

"Activate." I said squeezing my right hand with the corresponding seal to activate the genjutsu. Kitty cat immediately fell to the ground. Hound was alarmed and looked at his comrade. He then came at me with a kunai in his left unbroken hand. I landed a hit on him with a kunai when he substituted.

Kitty cat started to get up and I knew that the genjutsu had worked. It took a little more time than a regular genjutsu but it was worth every second. Hound came at me again, just to be blocked by a tanto. Kitty cat has been successful brainwashed, and began defending me.

Hound was attempting to release his comrade after a few exchanges, but it was to no avail. Because it was also a fuinjutsu, it could only be released by me. The fighter begins to full-hearted believe I'm his most loved person and will protect me to the death. I pumped more chakra into my left hand to seal Hound. While Kitty cat and Hound were exchanging blows, Hound trying to reason with his comrade, I checked my levels. Chakra less than half, and with this last technique would be less than a quarter, while my life energy was a quarter.

Teleporting behind Hound, I was ready to put my seal on him when he turned and swiped at my stomach. The kunai he held made contact, but I had enough time to place the seal on his head. Kitty cat quickly tackled Hound and attempted to restrain him. Soubi who had been looking on from a safe distance made his way to me. Pushing chakra to my right palm, I finished the genjutsu.

"Activate." Hound immediately collapsed onto the branch of a tree, Kitty cat ready to plunge the tanto into him. "Stop."

"Yes," Kitty cat replied. I felt Hound with the genjutsu and he was fighting against it. He must either have a stronger will than Kitty cat or was a powerful genjutsu user. Not too many people actually can fight against it.

"Restrain him, so we could get going to the gate." Kitty cat immediately wrapped Hound in wood. "Mind the right wrist. I broke it earlier and wouldn't want him too messed up."

"Yes." I let Arawn out in wolf form and he joined Soubi flanking me. The wounds all along my body were bleeding heavily, but I wasn't really affected yet. So clutching my right hand to the wound on my stomach, we made our way back to the Hokage. When we got there he was extremely surprised. Hound on the way rejected the genjutsu, so he was fully awake.

"ANBU Cat, what are you doing?" the Hokage asked greatly concerned about the state of his shinobi.

"Quit it you old geezer, it's only a genjutsu. I'll release him when you say I won." The Hokage looked at me confused. I pointed at the sun which showed it was between ten-thirty and eleven.

"What do you mean?" he asked trying to act like he didn't remember.

"You made a bet with me. If I got all five scrolls and Hound and Kitty cat before eleven, I get to be ANBU without training. Don't tell me you're a fucking liar Hokage." I grinned psychotically at me.

"I am not."

"Then say the words I want to hear."

"You win."

"And."

"And you are allowed to be ANBU black ops shinobi without training."

"Thank you. Now if you don't mind me, I'll take my leave. I will see you tomorrow for information on what I need to know and for my headband." The Hokage merely rubbed his temples behind his large hat. "I warned you when you forced me to stay here, that you did this to yourself."

With that I released Kitty cat from the genjutsu, after which he immediately fell to his knees gasping for air. Then I ran off towards the scent of my new student, Naruto.

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**Hey everybody. How we all doing? Did you guys like the fight scene with Hound and Kitty cat. Morrigan sounds like she got totally beat up. But she is still standing. I would like to say that, even though Morrigan is an immortal she can still feel pain. Also what about Naruto becoming her student. This is going to show you guys, a lot about Morrigan. One thing we'll learn is that she doesn't trust people. Like at all. Naruto is the exception, but we'll learn why later. The other thing about Morrigan is that she doesn't believe in bonds and friendship. So, yay for character development in the future. Do you guys hate this story? Just going to remind you guys to follow, fave, review, hate me, love me, stalk me (jk, don't stalk me). Loves yous lots.  
**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	9. Dumb Decisions and Deep Dialogue

"**Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish."**

― **Euripides, **_**Bacchae**_

**"I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you."**

**-Friedrich Nietzche**

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"Well that was a very eventful assessment. Don't you agree boys?" My wolves grunted in agreement and I could tell they were dead tired. We haven't had a real break in months and it was worse once we got to Fire country. As it is, yesterday was the first day we slept in three weeks.

We were following the scent to where my newest student was. Judging by the smells around him, he must still be at the academy. Finally coming out of the trees, I jumped into the street and noticed the landing was quite painful. I almost fell, but the wolves quickly braced me. Pulling my hand away from my stomach, I noticed that it was covered thickly in blood.

"_We must get you to the hospital or stop the bleeding."_ Soubi was concerned and knew that if I became even more weakened I might not be able to sustain the seal which kept him in this form.

"_Where should we go? The hospital is still a long distance in Morrigan's condition. Besides there is no one who can take her, she can barely stand."_ It was true. My vision was beginning to swim with spots.

"_The academy isn't far away and we can get that boy from earlier to bandage her." _Soubi decided, knowing I didn't know what to do myself. The wolves immediately started to usher me towards the academy. I waited outside the gate, trying to stay awake while Arawn went to find Naruto.

"_Man, I really pushed myself too far after the assessment. I should have never run off with that wound." _I could feel my power on the seal waning so I called Soubi back in, but left Arawn out. I hope he comes soon.

"_You were quite foolish to think that even though you are immortal, you are invincible. That wound can still get infected and you still might go into a deathlike coma if you were wounded fatally."_

"_Yah, yah, I know."_ Man, why does Soubi have to be right all the time? While I was waiting I leaned more heavily on the wall, smearing it with blood. I just want to go to sleep for a little bit. If I just close my eyes, maybe someone will find me and take me with Naruto.

"Oi, what do you want you stinking wolf? I have to get to class!" That voice. I opened my eyes slightly and turned in time to see Naruto.

"Naruto. I'm sorry for the trouble." No longer able to power the seal, I called Arawn back in. Naruto when he saw me went into a scared state. I tried to smile and right myself, but all I managed to do was wobble and fall. Naruto immediately caught me, and looked like he was going to cry.

"What happened to you Morrigan?" In my pain filled stupor I realized he thought I was going to die.

"I'm not going to die, bub. You gotta stop the bleeding and put some ointment on me, but I'll be fine." Making my way to walk, Naruto holding me up, we began to walk to his apartment. It wasn't far and not too many people saw me thank goodness. The ones who did, merely looked shocked at me and glared at Naruto. When we finally got to his room, I began to cough. Covering my mouth with my left hand, I realized I was coughing up blood.

"Man I should have taken you to the hospital. You look really, really**, really** bad Morrigan." Naruto was scared and for a minute I felt like he should have taken me to the hospital. Then I remembered that I didn't trust anyone enough for them to touch me. My body was also a little different than others, so you never know if they're going to experiment on me. I heard horror stories of balancers the doctors in World C experimented on.

"Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special, don't you? Just listen to my instructions and I promise that I won't die. Even if you don't follow my directions, I still won't die."

"How the hell are you so sure?" Sometimes I forget that other people die. Being around immortals for so long, I don't see death as significant. Naruto laid me down on a soft rug on the floor and looks at me with teary eyes. I put a bloody hand to his face and smile at him as wide as I can.

"I am sure. Now open my pack and there should be a scroll with a red border." He quickly rummaged through my pack dumping out scrolls on the floor. He picked up a scroll and showed it to me. "No that's pink. The one next to the yellow. Good, now open it up and then reach inside. Don't use too little much chakra, good. Now in there should be a roll of bandages and a cool bottle. Take them out and lay them here."

"Okay, now what do I do?" Naruto's fear was left with determination, his eyes sparkling with a bloody handprint on his cheek.

"Now, I have to take off these shirts. I wrapped myself up, so you don't have to worry about your precious innocence." I began trying to take the tube top off, but it was sticking to me too heavily. I reached into my pack, grabbed a kunai, and cut my shirts off. I had wrapped myself, so nothing was showing, but Naruto still blushed. At least he doesn't think I'm going to die.

"Go get a bowl with water and a towel so I can clean up the blood as well as I can. I should take a shower, but I don't think I'm strong enough." I could feel myself waning, the power I had used to sustain the wolves being used to keep me awake. Naruto ran off and I looked at my body. My arms were filled with cuts, some of which were superficial, but most were a little deep. My stomach was by far the deepest and would take half a week to close without my pills. Naruto came back, nearly tripping on his own feet and spilling some water on the floor.

"Good now go to the black scroll." I began to clean up my wounds as best I could. Naruto thought ahead and brought antiseptic which I poured over every open wound. I hissed at the pain and Naruto looked up. "Okay pull out some pills from there. You might have to hunt for them, but I need a white capsule. If you find two give me both."

"These ones."

"Good. Give me the pills. I'm clean so get that ointment from earlier and start putting it on every wound. If you miss one, it'll become infected." Handing the pills to me I promptly swallowed them. They were Shinigami healing pills, though they take some time to take effect they were great. I would probably be up and running by tomorrow. Naruto began smearing the ointment on every wound. I merely sat there trying to stay awake.

"Okay I'm done. Do you want me to bandage you next?" Not really having any strength left, I nodded. Naruto began to bandage me, quickly but efficiently. He hesitated when he got to my stomach wound but with a glare, he lost all embarrassment.

"Good. Now reach into the yellow scroll. Get me a shirt and put it on me." Naruto reached in and pulled out a Misfits t-shirt. Thank kami it wasn't one with foreign lettering, merely the skull of white on black cotton. I put my hands in the air and Naruto pulled the shirt down for me.

"Do we need to do anything else?" Naruto asked, the fear returning to his eyes. I looked at my pants and noticed that they were bloody as hell.

"Reach into the yellow one again and get me some pants. I can put those on myself." He pulled out a pair of jeans, and put them back bringing out a pair of red cheer shorts Lily made me bring. Naruto gentlemanly turned around while I changed my pants. It took a long time, because I was weak and I was sitting instead of standing. I stood after, revealing a pool of blood on the rug.

"Sorry about the rug, kid. I'll buy a new one, even better than that old thing." I went and sat in a corner near his bed. The one room apartment was really small, but I wasn't going to complain.

"Are you alright? Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" Naruto said as he picked up the rug and threw it into the trash.

"I'm sure. I won't die. Besides, come tomorrow I'll be as good as new. Maybe even better, who knows?" I gave a reassuring smile through the pain.

"Okay, but if you look like this tomorrow I'm going to take you to the hospital. Deal?" Kid was trying to bargain with me. I knew I would be better tomorrow, feeling the effects of the pills kicking in.

"Deal." The apartment was quiet for a long time. Naruto was going around the room doing stuff I really didn't pay any attention to. Then I remembered what the people on the street did to him. They glared at him, for what I thought was no good reason. Why?

"Hey Naruto."

"Yah." He came to me immediately and looked into my eyes. He looked at me curled into a ball in my corner and frowned. Without warning he picked my small body up, and put me on the bed. I started to try to get out and he merely wrapped me up under the covers.

"I don't want to sleep in your bed."

"You can't stay on the floor."

"Yes I can."

"Not if you want to stay here. You're sleeping in the bed and that's final."

"Whatever. Oh, and would you mind not taking off my mask while I'm asleep." I didn't want to stay in the bed, but sleep was catching up to me quickly. I also didn't want the bugger looking at my face while I slept. That would be totally weird. Besides I don't want anyone to ever see my face. So I settled with a glare at him as he stood over the bed. He merely chuckled in response looking down at me.

"What did you want before?"

"Oh. I was going to ask you why the people looked mad at you. Did you do something to make them pissed at you?" I yawned and looked at his face. He got that sad look. It was the same look as when I asked what happened to his parents. I immediately regretted asking him. I closed my eyes, but tapped my fingers on the bed to let him know I wanted an answer.

"I don't know. They always glare at me like that. They hate me." His voice held too much sadness in it for a twelve year old boy. I opened my eyes again, and moved them to his blue orbs.

"Well fucking screw them then. You are a good fucking kid and they just have a stick up their ass. No one deserves that if they didn't do anything wrong. You don't deserve that. They're wrong." Naruto eyes lightened up a bit after that, but there was still the sad look in his eyes. I realized that the look was filled with loneliness. He's been alone all this time.

"Morrigan can I ask you a question." I leaned back into the bed and closed my eyes.

"Shoot," I yawned.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" What type of a question is that? Why would I be afraid of him? I'm afraid of everything else in this world, but not of him. I trust him, while I distrust everyone else.

"No. I won't ever be afraid of you, because I know you're good and I can trust you. I don't know why I know this or how, but I do. So no, I'm not afraid. Besides I have nowhere else to go. So I promise I will always be right here." Darkness overcame me and I went to sleep. I wish I could have seen his reaction before I fell asleep.

The next time that I woke up, the apartment was bright. Staring at the ceiling I thought that I must have slept for about a day. The pain in my body was completely gone. Immediately my hand checked to see if my mask was still on, which it was. Then I ran my hand along my stomach and realized that there were no bandages. Lifting my arm before my face, I saw that the bandages there were gone also. Naruto must have tried to replace the bandages and saw they were fully healed. Calling my wolves out, I noticed their hackles rise.

"What's wrong guys," I said aloud. I sat up in the bed and noticed someone sitting in a chair reading an orange book. The dude was dressed in the standard Jounin dress and his silver hair seemed to have defied all laws of gravity. He wore a mask and his hitai-ate covered left eye.

"I see you're awake." Well since he hasn't killed me, I must know him. Who else would address me so dryly? I smelled the air at the same times the wolves stood down.

"I see you're not here as an ANBU. What, could you not read your little book and sip your tea on duty? Or are you here for a rematch Hound?" I swung my legs off the bed and stretched. Naruto didn't change my clothes, so I was still in a t-shirt and shorts.

"I'm not sipping tea." I rolled my eyes as he turned the page of the book.

"How long have I been asleep?" and why were you here Hound, I added mentally.

"Two days since the assessment. When you didn't go see the Hokage yesterday, he thought you skipped town. So he wanted someone to check on you."

"What no ANBU?"

"You are a member of this village. We don't have to track you in secret anymore. Besides the Hokage was merely concerned for your safety." I rolled my eyes at Hound, wait what is his name?

"What's your name? I don't think you'll like it if I keep calling you by your alias."

"You are correct. My name is Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake. And what is your name fully? The only one I know is Shinigami's wolf huntress and I don't think—"

"Yah, yah. Morrigan," I said to him while getting up and searching the scrolls in my pack. The wolves went over to the bed and began to make it. They are such good boys, always helping out when I'm mortally wounded. "Anyways, where's Naruto?"

"He had school, so I sent him off and told him if he tried to ditch I wouldn't let him in. The boy was really worried about you. Actually he was the only reason that I knew where you were. He came in yesterday, screaming at the Hokage of how you wouldn't wake up." I pulled out extras of my shinobi outfit and walked to the bathroom.

"Is that so?" I asked leaving Kakashi alone in the room with wolves. I took a long shower, not really caring that there was someone waiting for me outside. Waiting until the water drain stopped looking like red jello, I got out and dressed. It was a good thing Naruto at least had shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Walking out of the bathroom, I replaced my mask which I cleaned from blood spatter, and went to the kitchen.

"I'm hungry and Naruto appears to have nothing but sour milk." I had checked the fridge and saw nothing but milk and ramen—expired milk and ramen. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No." Kakashi was sitting in the same exact position as when I left.

"Do you want to show me some place I could get food? Are you even here for a purpose or do you just like following me?" I asked getting slightly peeved by his one word answer. Kakashi merely got up out of the chair and walked out the apartment door. I followed him out with the wolves not far behind and locked the apartment door. I could teleport back in later.

We walked for a few minutes, in complete silence. What was that man reading that was so interesting? I looked at the title of the orange book: Icha Icha Paradise. Wasn't that some porn novel? Whatever. I don't discriminate, and if he is lonely enough that he reads porn in public, it isn't my problem. Kakashi finally stopped in front of a small diner that could only be described as western. It was like a Denny's but with a totally tourist feel. I guess that's how all Denny's are. We sat down at a booth and a waitress came by.

"What can I get for you guys to drink?" Kakashi still didn't look up from his porn, but I didn't really care.

"Water." What a noob.

"I'll take a coffee, black." I needed caffeine today. I am still extremely sleepy, though I knew I could go another three weeks not sleeping. The waitress left and reappeared a minute later with our drinks. I curled my hand around the warm cup and looked under the table at the wolves.

"_Do you want to return?"_ I asked wondering how comfortable lying under a table could be. They shook their heads, still weary of Kakashi being here.

"So," said Kakashi looking at me from the top of the book, "how long have you know Naruto?"

"The day of the assessment." I knew this was coming. They would probably want to know if I totally corrupted him or something. "I was sleeping in a tree after I ditched you and he woke me up. Of course when I told him to shut the fuck up, he started screaming that I was a ghost. Then I told him he shouldn't trust strangers. He asked me to train him, I somehow said yes. He was totally thrilled, but I told him he had to help me find houses. Then you showed up, pissed as hell."

The waitress came back and we ordered. I got bacon, eggs, hash browns and toast. Kakashi got the same except sausage instead of bacon. I wonder how he's actually going to eat. I mean I have a mask, but the mouth is still open. Oh well, I really don't care.

"Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"I don't trust people."

"We wouldn't kill you. The people in the village aren't like that." He looked a little offended that I thought they would kill me.

"I don't like people touching me, because I don't trust them. I don't trust them because I believe that they would see me as a threat and eliminate me."

"Is that why you kill people? Because you're afraid if you don't kill them, they'll kill you."

"It's only a matter of time before people realize how strong I am or how different I am, who I am or what I am. When that happens, they'll want to kill me. They already have once, and I wasn't really a threat to them yet. People will always want to be stronger than you, and will want to take you out. I became strong so I wouldn't have to feel that pain again. I became strong so I wouldn't have to be afraid."

"But you'll always be afraid. You're afraid even now."

"No. I'm not afraid now, I merely don't want to trust people because that means voluntarily letting them in. Once that happens, they'll realize what I am and want to hurt me. Then I'll have to kill them."

"But you trust Naruto."

"Yah, and I don't know why. It's strange." I stopped looking at Kakashi over his little orange book. Instead I stared out the window until the food came. We ate in silence, Kakashi still reading his book. The meal didn't take much longer and when we waited for the bill Kakashi finally closed his book and looked me face to face.

"But what if, people don't want to kill you when they find out who you are." I was going to laugh, but Kakashi's serious expression made me stop. I looked at him with a small smile.

"I don't know. No one has ever wanted something other than to kill me." I said this quietly and I knew my face looked saddened. Quickly I put on a blank face and left some money on the table.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked me going to stand up from the booth. I called my wolves into me and they disappeared from under the booth.

"I'm going to go see the Hokage. I'll catch you later bub." I immediately teleported out of the diner and into the Hokage's office. Shaking my still damp hair, the Hokage looked up from the paperwork on his desk.

"I'm glad to see you're awake Morrigan. Naruto was very worried about you." The Hokage opened a drawer to his left.

"Yah, I heard about that. Sorry I couldn't make it here yesterday." He pulled out a hitai-ate and a Konoha Bingo book and handed them to me.

"Your hitai-ate and your new Bingo book. It's been fully updated and already has all of your kills. Tomorrow you will report to ANBU headquarters and receive your mask and uniform. Just to let you know, I pulled some strings and made you the sole hunter-Nin for Konoha, though technically we don't have many missing-Nin. You will almost always work alone and only on assassinations and eliminations of missing-Nin like you asked." I was overjoyed to hear that. Maybe this place isn't that bad.

"Thank you old man. That is greatly appreciated." I actually bowed slightly to him and he chuckled. When I looked up he had a smirk on his face.

"You'll probably get your first assignment next week. At the end of this month you will also get a Genin team to train with. Of course you'll have missions during that time, which corresponds with their missions, so you won't be left alone in the village."

"Aaawww. But old man, do I really have to have to train with a bunch of squirts?" I was whining like I was a child, but maybe the Hokage would take pity.

"No. I was serious when I told you to strengthen your bonds with others. Do you understand me?"

"Yah, whatever." I tied my hitai-ate to my neck and let it rest there. The Hokage looked at me and smiled. He truly was happy I was a shinobi of Konoha. Looking at the clock on his desk I saw it was just a little before three.

"Hey old man, what time does the academy let out?" I asked him while he pulled out his pipe.

"At three." Well at least now that I'm awake, Naruto can help me house hunt. We could probably do some training too.

"Well, I gotta run old man. Catch you later." I waved to him with a smile and teleported in front of the academy. My blood still stained the wall and parents were looking at it in disgust. No one cleaned that up yet? I let my wolves out and shocked some parents who were watching me. Next minute, the kids were let loose and I looked for Naruto through the crowd. Figuring he wouldn't see me, I followed my nose and had the wolves push through the crowd. I found Naruto talking near the building with some other kids.

"Oi, Naruto. We gotta go look for some houses, so hurry your ass up." The boy turned to me and looked shocked.

"Morrigan? I thought you were still asleep! How long have you been up? What have you been doing? Why do you have hitai-ate?"

"Stupid Kakashi and I went to breakfast, after I woke up around noon. Then I went to see the Hokage, who gave me a new Bingo book and the hitai-ate. Finally I came here, so you could help me find suitable houses to live in."

"Hey Naruto who you talking to?" asked a boy with red tattoos on his face with a dog on his head. There were two other boys with him, one slouched with his hair like a pineapple and the other was chubby and eating chips.

"Oh, this is my friend Morrigan. Morrigan these are my classmates: Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji." Naruto beamed when he said I was his friend. I guess he doesn't have many friends. I looked at the three boys, all of whom were taller than me and smiled. My wolves immediately put themselves between them and me, knowing I was going to piss them off.

"What's up little shits?" I asked grinning even harder. All three boys looked shocked at my statement and then their faces turned angry. Yep, I just pissed them off.

* * *

**Hey everybody, how's life going. I'm doing well, if you were wondering. I have to work tomorrow, so I don't know if the chapter is going to get posted tomorrow or on Saturday. Probably tomorrow because I write in the dead of night. Remember to comment, follow, fave, etc... (there's not etc is there?)**

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own Lily, Antonio, Akane, and Arash (balancers on Earth).  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	10. I Got a House and A New Tattoo

"**My body is my journal, and my tattoos are my story."**

― **Johnny Depp**

"**I want a tattoo over my heart that reads TRY HARDER YOU LAZY PARAMEDIC SHITBAG OR I WILL HAUNT YOUR BEDROOM FOREVER"**

― **Warren Ellis**

* * *

"What did you say you little twerp?" the one who was name Kiba practically screamed. He made a move to step towards me and the wolves growled. He shuffled back, startled by the two large wolves.

"I said, 'what's up'." I might as well stop messing with these guys. I don't want them to give Naruto a bad time in class. The boys all looked at me with dislike, but shrugged it off a moment later. They didn't seem like the ones to hold grudges. That's good, because if they were they might take it out on poor Naruto.

"Whatever," the one who slouched, Shikamaru, muttered, "this is just too troublesome."

"Hey who are you anyway? You're Naruto's friend, but you don't go to the academy." The chubby one—named Choji I think—was pretty observant. He began eating his chips once again.

"I didn't go to the academy." The three boys now had a puzzled look on their faces. Were all shinobi children supposed to go to the academy?

"But you're a ninja, because you have a hitai-ate." Kiba got back some of his spunk back and glared at me. He most certainly had a hot-temper. Easy to bait, therefore not much of a challenge.

"Yah. Your—our—Hokage wanted me to become a shinobi here. I took my assessment two days ago and got my hitai-ate today." I was starting to get bored. The wolves made their way to flank me on my sides while Naruto stood to my right. The three boys looked amazed at me—well that Shikamaru could hardly waste his energy on facial expressions, but I could tell he was amazed.

"So you weren't born in the village." That Shikamaru seems lazy, even the way he speaks is sluggish. But something about him tells me that he isn't showing what he is actually. Maybe he is extremely judgmental or even smart, though looking at him he's nothing but lazy.

"Naw." I began to look to Naruto who was starting to pick up my wanting to leave.

"Then where were you born? In a town outside the village?" Choji said this with his mouth full, crumbles dropping on his shirt.

"Over the hills and through the woods," I said waving my hand in an off manner.

"_To grandmother's house we go"_ Arawn finished, having taken a liking to nursery rhymes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked angry at my not being clear. I might as well ignore him and his stupid temper. I turned to Naruto and raised one eyebrow. He laughed and was going to say that we had to leave, but was interrupted.

"What rank are you?" Shikamaru asked, suspicious to who I was.

"I'm going to pick up my stuff at ANBU headquarters tomorrow." I took pride that I was stronger than them.

"Whaaaaa? Seriously Morrigan? You're an ANBU?" Naruto screamed, so the world would be privy to my life.

"Yes Naruto. Now if you would excuse us boys, I have to go look for houses to buy." I yanked Naruto and dragged him out of the Academy gates. The other three boys were still there gaping when we reached the street. The street itself wasn't that filled, everyone having left while we were talking. I pulled out the listings and handed them to Naruto.

"These aren't apartments Morrigan." Naruto looking at me like I just wasted precious minutes of my time.

"I know Naruto. I don't want an apartment, I want a house."

"But all these are expensive and the ones you have circled are really big. How are you going to afford the payment on them?" Naruto asked, in a tone that meant he was trying to teach me. He didn't think I knew how to buy a house. Antonio and Akane made sure I knew how to live on my own, so I wasn't going about this lost.

"Dude, I know how to buy a house. I have a lot of money saved up from my previous jobs." I began walking in the direction of my first circled house. Naruto walked in front of me going backwards. He still had the listings in his hand, and was looking at them. He looked up to me and seemed confused.

"What did you used to do?" Naruto asked, eager to know how he could make money. I was a little hesitant, but his warm smile gave me the courage to continue.

"I was a bounty hunter. I have enough money for the most expensive on there, but I don't want to waste that much. I was saving up to buy myself a katana, when the Hokage forced me to stay here." Naruto stopped suddenly and I bumped into him. My face was in his chest and I took a step back.

"You were a bounty hunter? What did you hunt?" Naruto asked in a quiet voice. I was starting to get afraid that he would abandon me. It's not like I couldn't handle being by myself, but he was my friend and I somehow trusted him.

"I hunted missing-Nin over in Mist. Mostly S-ranked, though I did take on one or two A-ranked." I had to tell him the truth. Looking into his chest, I could feel the knot of pain in my chest. He was going to reject me.

"Oh." I couldn't bear to look into his eyes. There would be fear and disgust filled in his blue orbs.

"He probably thinks I'm a monster." I didn't realize I muttered the words until Naruto reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. Only then did I look at his face. He was smiling a sad smile. He wasn't disgusted?

"I could never think you're a monster Morrigan. What kind of a friend would I be if I turned my back on you now? What kind of a friend would I be to turn my back on you ever?" Naruto said, squeezing my shoulder. He let go and with his right hand grabbed my left arm, dragging me through the streets. He then started to lead me to the first house and smiled at me brightly.

"Thank you," I said, so quietly that no one would ever know the words were said.

"You are my friend. Just like you said you wouldn't leave me, I won't leave you. Besides those were bad guys you were hunting. They needed to be killed before they could hurt anyone else." Naruto beamed at me and I smiled back. Inside I was overjoyed. He was my friend and he said he would never leave me. But somewhere in the back of my mind, a small voice reminded me that he would be scared if he knew what I was. I shook my head and made the thoughts go away.

"Okay." I called the wolves back in and went on with our house hunt. It was dark when we found the perfect one. We looked at a couple of houses, but this one was the one I wanted. When we walked up to it, it screamed, 'buy me Morrigan'.

The house was near the hospital like I wanted, but it had its back to the forest. Naruto informed me, it wasn't too far from some ramen shop he liked. It was secluded, but was still in the village. What really made it great was that it had a nearby training area and wasn't far from the ANBU headquarters. The main entrance was on the other side of town, but I didn't really want to be near the entrance so it was okay. There wasn't really any neighbors so I didn't have to worry about privacy. The front yard had a short white picket fence and a weeping willow tree. But what really screamed Morrigan was that it was a Log home.

"Wow. This is so beautiful, Naruto." I was standing under the weeping willow and looking at the house. There were two large windows on either end of the red painted door.

"It looks pretty cool Morrigan." Naruto didn't really care about the house. He was merely here as a guide. The old man who was showing us the house was kind. He didn't glare at Naruto and even smiled at the boy. This was the fourth house we were getting to actually see, but we had been turned away from a couple of others. I didn't care. If they didn't like Naruto then get out of my way.

"How old is the house?" I asked the old man. He smiled at me and led the way to the door. Naruto and I followed him and gaped at the inside.

"The house is as old as I am. It's been here since the village was founded." Wow that is pretty old. But somehow the house didn't show that age. Inside the ceilings were vaulted and the inside was completely log. The whole house was very open and you could see all the way into the backyard, down a hallway to the bedrooms. The kitchen itself was huge and already had a steel refrigerator and dishwasher.

"How many bedrooms and bathrooms is it again?" I asked just to fill the silence of our awe. Naruto was looking out one of the side windows in the living room, as I went through the formal dining area to the kitchen.

"There are four bedrooms and four baths. When I was younger, my friends rented some rooms from me. So it is set up for everyone to have their own space." The old man went through the house and opened up the bedrooms for us to see. The bedrooms were all spacious and came with a full bathroom.

"Oh, I would love to have this bedroom. Hey Morrigan, look you can see the Hokage Monument from here!" Naruto was so excited about this house. I went into the bedroom and looked through the large window and indeed you could see the Hokage's heads. The trees actually had a made a path to the actually monument.

"That is a great view." I didn't care much for this room, but loved the other bedroom overlooking the weeping willow and fence.

"I wish I could wake up to this every day." Naruto looked awed at the view.

"You could live with me if you wanted." What the fuck did I just say? I was doing that whole say before we think thing too much lately. Naruto turned to me quickly, his face bright as the sun. There's no going back now.

"You really mean it Morrigan?" Naruto asked overjoyed with the idea of living here. The bedroom was almost as big as his apartment and I had to admit, it would get lonely here by myself.

"Yah, but you have to help out with chores and buying food. I'll pay for the utilities and stuff like that." Naruto was jumping up and down, the old man coming into the room and smiling at him.

"Yahoo. Thanks so much Morrigan. I'll be the best housemate ever! Believe it!" The boy was just too loud sometimes. I could feel a migraine coming on and realized I was hungry. I turned to the old man.

"So, can we buy it now? I can run the paperwork over to the Hokage tomorrow, though there won't be a lot of it."

"Why not young lady?" the old man asked still smiling at Naruto and myself. I smiled back and took out a sealing scroll from my weapons pouch.

"Because I'm going to pay you the full amount now. So since I assume you own the property in full, I'll just give you the whole amount and you give me the deed." The old man reached into his coat pocket and took out a yellow paper.

"Here you are young lady. You are now the proud owner of this home." I gave the old man the full balance and he handed over the deed. We signed a couple of papers in the kitchen and the old man said he would take them to the Hokage. I asked him if he wanted me to do it, but he simply refused. Taking the keys out of his pocket, he handed a pair to me. Naruto was jumping up and down when the old man handed him the second set of keys.

"Look Morrigan! We own a house!" Since when did he pay for the house? The deed was mine, and I was the only one who signed paperwork. Oh well, he was just too happy. I checked my wallet after the old man left and found we would have enough money to completely furnish the place.

"Okay, tomorrow after you're done with school, we'll go buy furniture. We gotta stay in your fucking small apartment for now, but by the end of the week we could move in. We should go eat right now and then head home. I gotta fix this hitai-ate and get up early for tomorrow." I have to go to ANBU headquarters early, so I should at least get some sleep tonight. Walking around today, I found that the hitai-ate at my neck was a bad idea. It kept bouncing around and I noticed it was an easy target for an attacker.

"Oh can we go to Ichiraku's place? It's near my apartment." Naruto exited our house and I locked up. Thinking better than leaving it unarmed, I quickly took out a protection seal. The seal should activate if anyone enters the house. I followed an eager Naruto we made our way to get dinner. Naruto entered a little ramen bar. I followed through the curtain to see and older man and a young girl working behind the counter.

"Hey Naruto. Do you want the usual?" the girl asked Naruto as he took a stool. When she saw me she asked, "Naruto is that a friend of yours? Does she want the usual too?"

"Yah, two Miso ramens to start Ayame. Thank you." I made my way to the stool next to Naruto and sat down. Immediately two bowls were placed in front of us. They were steaming hot and looked quite delicious.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto nearly screams. He picks up his chopsticks and begins to eat the ramen.

"Yah, thanks." I get my chopsticks and turn to Naruto who is done with his first bowl and starting another. Where the fuck did that second bowl come from?

"Naruto are you even going to fucking breath?" I ask beginning to slurp my noodles. It is really delicious. Naruto doesn't seem to hear me and continues eating his ramen. I smile to the young girl and she smiles back. Naruto is done with his fourth and going on a fifth when I'm finally done. I wait until Naruto is done and pay the tab. It didn't hurt the budget too badly, but man could he eat a lot of ramen.

"So tomorrow are you going to go to ANBU headquarters?" Naruto asked, having been suspiciously quiet after leaving the ramen bar.

"Yah. I gotta get my stuff. Hokage said I would probably get a mission next week, so we can get the house situated before I leave. The furniture if we order it tomorrow would probably be in by Saturday." Today was Wednesday, so ordering it tomorrow would give them plenty of time to order it in.

"Are you going to be okay?" Naruto asked quietly when we reached his apartment door. He was worried about my safety wasn't he?

"I'll be fine Naruto. I promise I won't die before you." I would never die, but if I told him that, he would freak. I wasn't ready for that.

"I know. How are you always so sure?" Naruto asked while we entered the apartment. I let the wolves out and they went to the corner of the room and laid down. Going to my pack I opened a scroll and got a bunch of comforters. Carrying them I made a nest next to Naruto's bed.

"Because everything will be fine in the end. Right now, the world isn't alright. It's full of turmoil and evil. When the world is free, everything will be fine, the end will come. Till then I will go on living." I took out a t-shirt and shorts and went to the bathroom to change. When I came out I saw that Naruto was already lying in bed.

"But when will the world be free?" Naruto asked yawning. I kinda hoped he wouldn't continue on with this conversation.

"The world will never be free."

"So you won't ever die?" Sometimes Naruto could be smarter than he should be. I looked at his sleepy face and smiled. The wolves had climbed into the bed with him and had fallen asleep.

"Go to sleep Naruto. I'll explain everything another time, okay?" I said to him. He looked like he was going to open his mouth, but I gave him a reassuring smile and he stopped. He closed his eyes and was asleep in the next moment.

I wasn't very tired yet, so I figured I would fix my hitai-ate. Where should I put it? My mask already took the place on my forehead, and the neck was a no go. Maybe was a waist band it would work. No then I have to find a longer cloth. My arm? I put the hitai-ate to my arm and figured I would make the metal smaller. I cut the metal, made the hitai-ate fit comfortable on my right arm. That night I got three hours of sleep, but it was totally worth it.

Naruto was asleep when I got ready to go to the ANBU headquarters. I showered, using Naruto's shampoo, conditioner and soap, then dressed in my regular shinobi outfit. My mask was always last and I took it off to clean it. I sat in my nest of blankets and repainted the seal on the inside of the mask. The seal was mainly so my mask wouldn't fall off. It caused it to suction onto my face and not let go without a lot of brute force.

Naruto stirred in his bed and I quickly covered my face with my dried mask. He sat up and rubbed his eyes wearily. The wolves were still in the bed with him. They would stay here, not really wanting to go to the ANBU headquarters. I got up and ruffled Naruto's hair before opening the window and jumping out. My feet hit the ground with ease. Sometimes I thought I should buy shinobi sandals, but I knew I wouldn't give up my converse. They were actually quite helpful, making my kicks slightly more powerful thanks to the rubber sole.

I make my way to ANBU headquarters which is not far from Naruto's apartment. It's probably around seven and the sun has already risen. Some people are in the streets and most look at me strangely. They probably wonder when I moved in here. I finally find the headquarters, after getting lost for some time and walk in. There was some regular paperwork to fill out and then they lead me to the supply room. The ANBU leading me was surprised the Hokage let me join without training.

"This is your armor and mask. You can look on that table to find two pairs of standard uniform to fit your size. Probably only have two your size anyway." I take the armor which includes a chest plate and arm guards a light golden color instead of silver. Probably because I'm a hunter-Nin and they want me to be signified differently. My mask is that of a wolf. It's similar to Kakashi's in the ears and overall features, but is sharper. It also has red rectangles starting at the brow of the wolf to the cheek. The rectangles are two inches wide and make the eyes of wearer pop at the victims. After admiring my mask I search the table and find three uniforms for me to wear. Sealing them all in a scroll I turn back to the white masked ANBU.

"You're going to have to get the tattoo on your arm now." He leads me to a back room where needles and tattooing machines are left.

"There's going to be a problem with the placement," I say calmly when he signals me to sit on a chair.

"Don't tell me you're scared of needles and tattoos." He said this with an annoyed tone.

"Quite the opposite." I take off my tube top and armor, having wrapped myself beforehand, and show him my arms full of tattooed seals. He whistles at the entirety of my arms.

"Maybe we should do it on your leg?" he asks quite unsure of where to place the tattoo.

"The back of my neck is still visible since I plan to never have long hair." I offer hoping he won't offer to see more of my body and scars. As it is, my stomach scar from where the Okinawa heir stabbed me, is clear as day. The scars on my legs are more prominent than the ones on my upper body, most covered by tattoos.

"That'll do fine. Sit down and I'll get started." I sit as he asks and wait for him to get started. I look at my arm seals and realize I might have to re-seal some of them.

Most of my arm seals are insignificant little seals. The one at the top of my left arm slows down my hair growth, so I won't have to cut it very often. The one below it, before my elbow, is to keep my balance level and my landings quiet. On the right arm at the top is a seal to keep the bugs away from me. Below that, before my right elbow, is the seal which allows me to mask my scent.

The seals to keep my wolves out, span on both arms from elbow to wrist. My palms were my specialized genjutsu, which needed to be re-tattooed soon. But the ones on the top of my hands were the most important. I put those one after the incident four years ago. Those needed to be re-tattooed every six months, or else my real form would come out. The man started to tattoo my neck when I remembered why people wanted to kill me.

Around the time I turned eight, I became known of a different side of me. Boss always knew that bonding Soubi with my soul would have repercussions. One of those repercussions was that my soul was inherently that of a demon wolf. When I turned eight, my demonic instincts took over and controlled me, turning me into an actual demon wolf. When in that form, I have no understanding of who I am or who my friends are. The only thing I want to do, is kill. That day I lost control, I attacked my family and a Shinigami friend who had been visiting.

I had a bullet put in my head, just so I would calm down and change back. Akane sealed me that first time, but after the incident I made the blood tattoos I have now. They were the only things protecting everyone around me from getting hurt. The friend was the one who actually killed me, and put me in a coma for three weeks. When he came back to visit a month later, he spit in my face calling me a monster, and an abomination. He said I wasn't really supposed to be alive and that my scar, a five-pointed star, showed I was doomed for hell.

Of course the others told me not to believe him, but some small part of me did. Balancers and Shinigami never looked at me the same, never looked at my scar the same really after that. That's also why I wear the mask. I know here no one would ever see the scar as demonic, but I learned to hate my face and my scar. Hiding it, I got to pretend that I wasn't some psychotic demon who was scarred and doomed to hell. But I was always afraid that non-Shinigami would want to kill me. Shinigami were ordered not to kill me, but here they could go ahead and try.

I don't trust people because they would try and kill me, just like that day. Or worse, I would kill them if I lost control. Of course I haven't lost control in four years, but there was a first for everything. I looked down at my hands again and made a note to tattoo them when I got to the apartment later. The ANBU was finishing up my tattoo when he broke the eerie silence.

"So you're the new hunter-Nin. How old are you anyways?" he asked. I didn't think ANBU were supposed to hold causal conversations, but didn't really read into it.

"Twelve. How about you old man?" I asked cheekily. I could tell he wasn't older than twenty-five, but I was trying to cheer myself up. Having thought back to the incident, I got depressed.

"Twenty-two. So how did you even become an ANBU without training?" he asked wiping my neck down. It hurt like hell when he touched it, but I was used to this kind of pain.

"Made a bet with the silly Hokage."

"Seriously?" he asked, chuckling lightly.

"Yah," I replied getting up from the chair and putting my clothes on.

"The silly Hokage?" he asked confused.

"He's forcing me to stay here. Though it is nice and I don't want to leave now, but I'd appreciate it if I wasn't fucking bound and gagged into something." I turned to face the white masked ANBU, who I realized was watching me.

"Well that wasn't very nice. What else do you think of him?" he asked prying into thoughts. What the hell was he trying to get at? Did he want me to bad mouth the Hokage and report it back to the old man? What was his agenda?

"I haven't known him for very long, so I don't know exactly. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go redo some of my tattoos."

I looked at the white masked ANBU and then teleported to Naruto's apartment. The wolves looked at me and I wondered what that ANBU's motives were. Looking to the wolves for some answer they looked just as confused as I was. I went to my pack in the corner of the apartment and took out my tattooing stuff. The wolves watched me as I got my stuff and laid it out gently. It was around noon, so I had plenty of time to tattoo and then go get something to eat, before I went to the Academy.

"_Wait I almost forgot."_ I turned my back to the wolves. _"How does my tattoo look?" _

"_It is very nice, and the neck is a good place to have it since your arms are taken," _Soubi said in his casual mentor-like way.

"_I like the color. Blood red is a good color,"_ Arawn said happily. Sometimes he was just too concerned with blood.

* * *

**That crazy moment where bold doesn't want to work. Tired. Good night. (I don't own Naruto)**


	11. Screw the Manners

"**I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though."**

― **J.D. Salinger, **_**The Catcher in the Rye**_

"**The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork."**

― **Oscar Wilde**

* * *

My hands hurt from the tattoos as I walked to the Academy. The streets were full of parents and children. Walking, they all stared at me and my wolves. I changed my top, so I had a black muscle shirt on which showed my tattoos. The ANBU tattoo could be seen on my neck, the shirt being a little lower in the back.

"_Do these people not see tattoos very often? I am a shinobi, they should be used to it."_ I was getting a little irked from all the stares as we entered the gates of the Academy.

"_Yes, but there aren't very many young shinobi with an ANBU tattoo. Other than that you seem like a rebellious teen with the mask and tattoos,"_ Soubi said, analyzing the villager's glares. I smelled the air and found Naruto talking with the boys from yesterday. Walking over to them, I bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're walking punk," I said to a kid my age. He wore a navy blue shirt with a high collar, white shorts and white arm warmers. He was pale skinned with the darkest black hair. I miss my black hair, I thought, not taking the scowl off my face.

"I could say the same for you." Kid was cheeky I had to give him that. We stared at each other for a long time, before I felt like showing him up. My wolves had made their way to Naruto and were not at my side. I grinned at the boy before teleporting off to join my wolves.

"Hey, Morrigan, what happened?" Naruto asked, taking notice of my scowl.

"Some punk kid crashed into me," I replied, putting my hands behind my head. I nodded to Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji, who in turn all smiled lightly at me.

"Which kid?" Naruto asked, looking ready to pound on someone.

"Black hair, pale-ass skin, navy top, and white pants." All the other boys froze and Naruto looked livid. What did he have a beef with that kid or something?

"Stupid Sasuke. Bumping into people, thinking he is so much better than the rest of us." Naruto's rant got increasingly more rage filled as it went on. I waved at him, my tattooed arm being fully exposed to the other boys.

"He isn't worth it Naruto. Besides if I wanted to kick his ass I would have. Though taking on Academy students could barely be called fun." The three boys looked amazed at my arms, and I grinned at them.

"Whatever," Naruto replied deflating quickly.

"So, how you boys doing today? Anything fucking interesting happen in class?" I asked the three boys, actually trying to make an effort to start a conversation with people.

"Naw, the same old, same old. We have our test at the end of the month, so we are really only doing review." Kiba spoke first, while Shikamaru slouched and yawned and Choji ate his chips.

"It's so troublesome." Is everything troublesome to Shikamaru?

"Well, I hope you all pass. Anyway Naruto we gotta go get furniture then I should start helping you train. Kami knows you'll need it."

"You know he's the worst in the class?" Choji asked before we had a chance to leave.

"No, I just knew he sucked. Worst in the class is really bad. Well I guess we should start training right after we get the furniture. Just kill me now, really." The boys looked confused with my last statement, but I muttered 'joke' and they shrugged. I walked out of the Academy with the wolves following. Naruto caught up with me on the street.

"You're really going to start my training today Morrigan?" Naruto asked jumping up and down while walking next to me.

"No Naruto I'm lying. You're going to have to work on your own." I said this in a sarcastic voice but Naruto didn't get it. He was going to start having a meltdown. "I'm kidding. Yes, we are going to train today."

We walked to the furniture store on the other side of town. All the while Naruto was yammering about a bunch of stuff. I didn't really pay any attention to him, only nodding and making grunts of approval when there was silence. I was too busy thinking about earlier today. To say I was in a depressed stupor would be the beginning of it. I could feel myself sinking into myself. If I don't stop now, I would lose myself.

"Hey Morrigan. Morrigan! MORRIGAN!" I snapped out of my stupor when Naruto yelled at me. We were in front of the furniture store.

"Sorry," I quietly told Naruto. He looked concerned, and went to ask me what was going on. "Naruto. If I ever do that again and you can't wake me up, go into my stuff. In one of my scrolls is a bone brush, you'll know it when you find it. Write 'help' with it on any paper. Okay? Don't freak out, but do this if I ever don't wake up."

"What's wrong with you Morrigan?" he asked confused and a concerned look on his face. I had to tell him everything, he was my backup. He was the only one I trusted. But I wasn't ready to tell him everything right now. With time I might learn to trust him more completely.

"It happens to me sometimes. Okay? It's just how I am, and this is normal." I smiled a reassuring smile that he didn't seem to buy into but once he turned into the store it fell off my face. I have to keep my emotions in control. If I get too flustered or depressed I run the risk of letting my demon out or falling into my darkness. I have to stay positive. Following Naruto into the furniture shop, I noticed the shop keeper glared at Naruto.

"Hi. I am looking to furnish our new home. I have a few ideas of what I want, but am open to some suggestions." I glared at the lady who immediately placed a friendly smile on her face. She didn't like Naruto but wasn't going to sacrifice a sale.

"Yes, of course. We have a book with selections. Right this way miss." She led me to a desk with a book. Naruto and the wolves walked around the store.

"Don't break anything. Take this as part of your training Naruto. Mind your tails wolves. Okay, boys?" I asked them sitting down and opening the book.

"Got it Morrigan. I'll be really, really stealthy." Just then a clang was heard and I turned to see the woman glaring at Naruto.

"I'll pay for the stuff he breaks." I turned the charm on the woman and pulled my wallet out. She just looked at me with a wary look.

We spent about an hour in the store. Thankfully Naruto didn't break anything other than the first vase. The vase was only slightly dented, being that it was metal. For the house we got four beds, all with a wood bed frames. For the kitchen we got a cherry wood table with eight matching chairs with leaves carved into them. We got a gray couch and love seat for the living room with a cherry wood coffee table. For my bedroom I got a black bookcase with matching six drawer dresser. For Naruto's room I got a small white desk with matching four drawer dresser. The other two rooms got plain light wood dressers both with four drawers. We also got a couple of rugs a dark blue color to throw around the living room and entryway. The kitchen was stocked since the old man said it had everything, since he didn't need them when he got married.

"We should have everything in by Saturday. Will you need someone to help you move everything over?" the woman asked taking the paperwork and the deposit.

"No, I have some friends who will help me. Thank you." The movers cost too much money, besides I was thinking about forcing Kitty cat and Kakashi. They injured me really badly, the least they could do is help me move.

"Well then. I thank you for your service and plan to see you on Saturday at eight o'clock." The woman smiled at me and glared slightly at Naruto. Calling the wolves and Naruto to my side, we headed to the woods where I first met the boy. It took some convincing that we shouldn't head to dinner but should go later when we were done training, but I did convince the blond boy. When we got to the clearing, I thought of throwing exercises he should do.

"Since you were working on throwing shuriken last time, maybe we should stick with that. Or maybe we should have you train with kunai, since you seem like the type who barrels into things first and asks questions later." I thought whether Naruto should work on shuriken or kunai, while he bounced up and down eagerly. "Okay, I guess that we should train with kunai, because the likelihood that it will be on the test is high."

"Kunai it is then. I am gonna be the best ninja ever! Believe it!" I sighed.

"_This kid really doesn't have many people who pay attention to him. I hope he gets a little quieter after a while." _Naruto took out a couple of kunai and waited patiently for instructions.

"_I don't think so."_ The wolves said in unison, wanting to return into me. I allowed them to, and pulled a kunai from my pouch.

"Okay," I walked to a tree and marked a spot on it, and teleporting to Naruto's side I continued, "try to hit that."

"Right." Naruto three three kunai, all of which didn't hit the tree that was twenty feet away. Naruto's enthusiasm quickly deflated. I felt bad for him, but kept up the stern Sensei act I had going.

"Alright try it again," I said handing him the one kunai in my hand. Naruto looked at the target once again and this time concentrated. He threw the kunai and hit it exactly where I had marked.

"I hit it! Yahoo!" Naruto screamed into the sky. He went to pick up all the kunai and came back to try again. I stood there waiting for him to try again. He threw all four once he concentrated and only one of them hit the target. The others were strewn through different trees, not coming close.

"I got another one!" I looked at the kunai in the tree, teleporting to it. The kunai in the tree had an explosive tag around the hilt. The one in the tree is my kunai, not one of his. Naruto had come over and collected the wayward kunai and walked back. I teleported to his side, coming up with an experiment.

"Naruto throw only two of those and this one." Naruto took my kunai from me, and threw all three. Again the only one that hit was mine. "Naruto give me that last kunai."

"Okay. I got another one in. I am doing so well." Naruto handed the kunai to me and I weighted it. Something was different about this kunai. Holding it in my hand I realized it was disproportionate and the hilt was too short.

"How many kunai do you have Naruto?" I asked him feeling my anger begin to well up.

"I only have three. I don't have enough money to buy anymore and the academy gives out free ones sometimes. I figured that when I passed the test, I would get a bunch more." Naruto was still so excited that he could hit the target.

"You shouldn't work with stupid Academy kunai Naruto. They're dull and shit. I'll trade with you and I'll sharpen those. I don't usually use kunai anyway." I gave Naruto some kunai, pulling them out of a scroll I carried in my pouch. He first didn't want them, but when I told him these were sharp like a real shinobi he took them.

"Okay, now hit the target." I had picked up his defective kunai and put them in my pouch. He threw all five in rapid succession and they all hit the target. Naruto began jumping up and down. I told him he should move back ten feet and throw again. Meanwhile climbed up on a tree and watched the trees.

He got increasingly better when I figured we should move on to other skills. I was too tired for taijutsu and my hands still hurt from re-tattooing them. Maybe we should try some chakra exercises, but those wouldn't be on the test. Oh, maybe we should do something basic like clone jutsu.

"Naruto how's your clone jutsu?" I asked, yelling down from the tree.

"Uhhh," Naruto chuckled a little, "it's, uhhh, not so good."

"Oi then, let's see it." I jumped out of the tree and waited for Naruto to do the handsigns. His chakra swirled and there was the familiar poof of smoke. I was let down when I saw a white clay-like Naruto on its back.

"Okay. We have to work on that. Like a lot. When is the test?" I asked trying to convince myself to be hopeful about him passing.

"It's in two weeks." I sighed. I would get a mission next week and I don't know if that's enough time to train him.

"Alright try again and again until you get it right." Naruto proceeded to make clone after clone after clone. They were all mal-formed and the night was already upon us. I looked at the moon and suspected it was around ten already. Was he even going to collapse from chakra exhaustion?

"Morrigan I'm hungry. Can we stop now?" Naruto whined, panting heavily. I was sitting on the grass with my back against a tree. I wanted to have him completely worn out, suspecting it was his chakra control which lacked. I could always smell that he had more chakra than even some Jounin.

"Not until you make a perfect one." Naruto sighed and tried again. I suppose we have been sighing a lot lately. I watched Naruto sway as he tried again after his last failed attempt. This time he created one. It was a perfect clone.

"Hey, I think I did-" Naruto never got to finish. The swaying got even worse and he fell to the ground passed out.

"_Man why did he have to pass out here? Couldn't he have waited until we got back to the apartment?"_ I asked the wolves, slightly angry at his fatigue.

"_You pushed him way too hard. You always forget that he is a child and can die rather easily." _

"_I know. I know."_ I walked over to Naruto and felt for his chakra. He had a lot of chakra left, but it didn't feel like how he normally does. This chakra is too dark and was all-consuming rage. I could feel Naruto's warm chakra, barely trickling. He would be fine, but won't be able to go to classes tomorrow. Might as well, I wanted to talk to that instructor. Lifting Naruto to his feet, I teleported to the apartment. I took off his outer jacket and laid him in the bed. He began to snore and I ruffled his spikey hair.

Not feeling tired enough to sleep, I got out my bone brush and some paper. I looked in a scroll for some ink and began to write to everyone back home. I told Akane how I found another Uzumaki, and that he was an orphan. Promising to take care of Naruto, I asked her if she might know whose kid he was. If Naruto had any relatives, I would gladly take him to them. I told Antonio how I got a house and was planning on putting up all the posters he got me in my room. I also told him to buy a t-shirt for me if he went to any concerts without me.

I knew Lily would worry about my health, so I wrote her about the darkness. I told her that should anyone receive a help in writing not mine, it would be Naruto. Telling her he was my fail-safe should I fall into the despair and not come out, I suggested when this happen for Boss to come and get me. I told Arash that I hadn't had time to play my violin while I was here, but I yearned for it each day. Telling him that when he got a chance to send me sheet music through the brush.

It was around two when I finally went to bed, checking on Naruto one more time. Naruto was fine and I suspected he would wake up tomorrow morning. I let the wolves out and curled up in my nest of blankets, with them next to me.

"_Wake me up at dawn, and I'll go talk to the teacher about Naruto's kunai." _

"_Of course, and you'll have to get some food on the way home. Naruto doesn't have anything but bad milk, remember."_ Soubi said this mentally and yawned.

"_Yep. I'll stop by that diner Kakashi took me. I have to find him too. He has to help us move in."_ I closed my eyes and let sleep consume me. I dreamt of the darkness, and that I was falling into it. I kept falling and falling, until I suddenly was hit in the leg. The hitting kept up and I was confused. Waking up, I felt Soubi nudging my leg.

"_I'm up, I'm up."_ I yawned and began to get up. Soubi woke me up at the crack of dawn, just as I asked. I went to the shower to get ready for the day. Dressing, I put on a purple skirt that had two slits down the sides, but this one went to my ankles. Under the slits, I had black shorts that went just above the knee. Finding a black muscle shirt, I wrapped myself and put my hitai-ate on my right arm. Looking at myself in the mirror, I took off my mask I had previously put on.

I touched the scar. It would never look anywhere near normal. The skin was raised slightly having been burned to a close. The skin at my eye and ear were slightly stretched. In some ways the scar seemed to make my eyes pop, making me seem pretty. But with this scar, I would never be pretty. It was a sign that I wasn't normal. I was a monster and monsters are never beautiful. Smiling sadly at my reflection, I replaced the mask on my face and went to check Naruto. He was still asleep.

"_Watch him for me. If he wants to leave, don't let him. I'll be back in an hour tops,"_ I told Soubi.

"_Don't worry, I'll take care of him,"_ Soubi answered trying to go back to sleep. I looked to Arawn and he nodded, returning into me. I quickly switched him to weapon form and put him on my holster. Turning, I teleported to the front door of the Academy and walked in the door. Looking for Naruto's classroom, which he had mentioned to me once, I took in the building.

I had never been to a school of any kind, so this was a real experience for me. I finally found the room and walked in. It was too early for students, but an instructor sat at the desk grading papers. I walked up to the man. He had his brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing standard shinobi dress with a flak jacket. Approaching him, I noticed a scar which ran across his nose and brown eyes. He noticed me right away and sat up straighter.

"How can I help you?" he asked. I noticed he had the tone of a teacher: caring, but strict at the same time.

"I need to talk to Naruto Uzumaki's instructor please." I chose to go the polite route and I smiled at him gently.

"I am him. Iruka Umino. And who might you be."

"I'm not really the issue here. The issue Umino-san is that these kunai shouldn't be given to children." I laid down the kunai on the desk with a loud thud. Now that I knew who I should focus my anger on, I let some of it out. Screw that polite tone I had earlier. That was before I knew who to get angry at.

"I am sorry but to become a shinobi, one must train with ninja weapons. If you have a problem with Naruto learning to throw weapons, then you should keep it to yourself. As far as I know, you don't know the boy." Iruka was getting angry with me. He seemed protective of Naruto and I was happy someone was looking out for him.

"My issue really isn't with weapons or Naruto becoming a shinobi. I am in fact training him at this time. Naruto is also living with me, so his safety and education is definitely my concern. What I do have a problem with is that these fucking kunai are mal-formed. They are off-balance and should have never made it into the hands of any shinobi. Now I know that the makers didn't let these be sold to the Academy, but what I can't see is that the instructors, yourself included, gave them all to Naruto. He had not one out of three, but all three were bad. Now chances are slim, wouldn't you say Umino-san." I was starting to yell after the whole fucking kunai bit. Iruka looked quite flabbergasted and was gaping like a fish.

"I had no idea-" Iruka began.

"Well as his teacher I really hope you had no idea. Because if I had any indication that you gave him these because you hate him like the rest of this fucking village, you wouldn't be sitting there right now. If you don't like him, keep it to yourself. He is just a kid and doesn't deserve any of this." I was breathing heavily and took a large breath. I made my tone go back to formalities saying, "Well, now that I have brought this to your attention, I hope you are aware of what goes on in your class more often."

"I really had no idea. If this happened and I knew about it, I would have fixed it immediately." Iruka seemed completely clueless to what happened to Naruto. I felt my rage die down, and I nodded to Iruka.

"I am glad to hear that. I bid you good day, Umino-san."

"Wait. Who are you? You are young enough to be in the Academy, but I know you aren't a student here. If you passed early, I still would have recognized you. So, who are you?" Iruka asked. I had half the mind to teleport out of there, but knew he would freak. I had turned away, so my ANBU tattoo was facing him and began to walk away.

"I'm a shinobi here like you." Those were my only words as I walked out. Kids filled the halls, and I teleported out of the crowded place. I popped out in front of the diner Kakashi had taken me to and entered. The waitress asked if I wanted a table and I said I wanted take out. She took my order and I waited sitting on a stool. Looking around the restaurant, I saw a familiar hair of silver. Walking to the booth I sat down.

"Hey you want to help me and Naruto move in?" I asked Kakashi. He had the same breakfast as last time, and continued to read his porn book. I quickly took a piece of toast, while he lowered his book to answer.

"You and Naruto? I thought you were the one without the house?" he asked, eyeing the toast I was eating.

"Yah, well when we went house hunting Naruto liked this house a lot and wanted this bedroom in it so I asked him if he wanted to stay with me. He was overjoyed and said yes. So now I'm stuck with a roommate who I even asked to live with me. Of course I didn't really think before I blurted it out, but it happened." I shrugged and continued to eat the toast. Eyeing the jam, I went to get it only to be swatted away by Kakashi.

"Stop eating my food. Why did you ask him to live with you?" he asked resuming his reading.

"He had this look in his eyes and I thought maybe he would be happier there than at his apartment. The way people treat him, I would rather have him with me than alone. He must have had a terrible childhood."

"So you understand his pain?"

"Are you some type of therapist or something?"

"No. But your actions contradict what you tell me. You don't trust people, yet you allow Naruto to live with you. Even now, you talk to me very openly."

"Because I know I can kill you."

"You probably can't, that was an assessment and you used my comrade against me. Besides why do you trust Naruto?"

"I already told you I don't know. And I so can kill you. I didn't show everything either."

"So do you understand his pain?"

"I don't know if I know his pain fully, but I sympathize for him. The way the villagers treat him makes me so angry. Why?" I asked really no one, not really expecting Kakashi to know why. Kakashi was silent for a long time and I finished the toast. He sighed loudly and put his book down.

"When are you going to be moving?" he asked giving me an exasperated smile.

"Tomorrow at eight."

"Where?"

"The stuff is at the furniture store over in the shopping district. We got a house over near training ground near the shinobi who look blind. I don't know what family they are, but they're all dark haired and have white optical bloodlines. The house is in the woods north of there and west of ANBU."

"Okay, I'll help you with some of the stuff." That was easier than I expected.

"Is Kitty cat available to help too?"

"No, he's on a mission." Just then the waitress brought my food and I paid her with the last of my savings. I would need to take that mission next week to keep myself afloat.

"Alright then. See you tomorrow at eight then?" I asked picking up my stuff readying myself to teleport.

"Hn," he replied drinking some water. That wasn't a real yes, so I didn't trust him.

"Okay then. See you later bub." I teleported home and saw Naruto was still asleep. I was starting to get worried that he wasn't awake yet. Opening my food, I began to drool. We forgot to eat yesterday, so I was starving. Once the food hit Naruto's nose, he woke up and jumped out of bed. He must not get food made for him before he woke up. He does live alone. I pondered this while stuffing some egg into my mouth.

"Morrigan you are the best! I am soooo hungry." He grabbed his takeout foam and opened it up.

"You're welcome." I said, my mouth full of food. I was too hungry to care about manners right now.

* * *

**Hi. I am super tired and just wanted to let you guys know, I'm starting school on the 20th of August, so updates will probably be between weeks. I update pretty fast, but won't be able to then. I'll have two jobs and school. Sorry about that. Remember to follow fave, review. Someone reviewed the other day, and even though it was kinda mean, I welcome honest feedback. But if you just tell me I suck, that isn't going to help me. Constructive criticism is crucial. (haha alliteration) Well goodnight loves yous alls. **

_**So yah, ummmm I don't own Naruto (sigh) but I do kinda own the valley of shadows, village of death, the Okinawa clan, the Marusame clan, the Shinigami world between worlds, boss, Soubi the Okamiyasha and my fav Morrigan and my newest fav Arawn. I also kinda own the four new balancers.  
**_

_**(man is this owning stuff getting big. Do I really have to do this. Little sister say yes. Yes it is then)**_


	12. I just made a deal with the Devil

**But what's confusing you, is just the nature of my game.**

**Just as every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints, as heads is tails.**

**Just call me Lucifer, cause I'm in need of some restraint.**

**So if you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste.**

**-**_**Sympathy for the Devil**_** by The Rolling Stones**

* * *

Naruto wolfed down his breakfast and I told him to get ready. We would probably be training the entire day today. Tomorrow of course we would move all the stuff to the house. I wonder if Naruto already paid his rent for next month. He probably didn't, which would be helpful because we could use that money to eat until I go on a mission. I laid in my nest of blankets, watching the wolves play around on Naruto's bed.

"Okay, I'm ready Morrigan. What are we going to train on today?" Naruto's bubbly personality really did help me escape the darkness.

"We are going to be doing chakra control exercises." I grabbed him and the wolves and we all teleported to the forest clearing. When I let Naruto go, he fell to the ground gasping for air. Seems like for non-Shinigami the effect of teleporting is similar to being punched in the gut.

"_Why did you do that? You had no concrete proof that he would even survive that technique,"_ Soubi said disgruntledly.

"_Because should we ever be in trouble, I have to know if it would work. It would be a life or death decision if I hadn't figured it out. Besides, I was mostly sure it would work."_ Naruto was recovering quickly, attempting to straighten himself. He took a couple more breaths and looked at me.

"Why'd you do that? It kinda hurts. Does it hurt you?" Naruto asked a little angry with me. He placed a pout on his face and glared at me. I laughed at his expression.

"It was quicker and no it doesn't hurt me," I said shrugging the whole thing off. "Okay so we are going to work on chakra control. To put it bluntly, your chakra control is fucking zero. Nearly fucking zero, but it is bad. So we are going to try something my parents taught me."

"Awwww, but Morrigan-"

"No buts, you need to work on this if you plan on creating a clone. Now," I grabbed a large leaf and stared at it. I remembered my parents and how they taught me control. I was so happy then. Happy and free, unlike now that I delude myself into thinking I'm happy. I'm really empty inside. I shook my head and handed Naruto the leaf. "Now, you might have an affinity for fire, but even if you don't this should work."

"What do I do? Do I put it on my head like at the academy?" Naruto asked bringing the leaf to his forehead. I chuckled lightly at his actions.

"No, hold the leaf out to me," I said. He immediately brought the leaf in front of me and I touched the center, sparking a little fire in the middle. I contained it there, as I explained the exercise, "now the point of this exercise is to focus your chakra on the fire in the leaf. I am containing it right now, but the fire will spread. I expect you to make your chakra hold the fire back at the center of the leaf. The fire shouldn't consume the leaf, but at the same time if you pump too much chakra, the fire will spread. It's all about balance."

"This is easy Morrigan. This isn't going to help me at all." Naruto stared at the leaf in his hands, the fire being held back by me.

"Sorry, but you were the one who asked me to train you. I never offered. Besides do you treat your sensei at the academy this? I deserve the same respect even if you don't call me sensei." I went and sat in a tree, my legs hanging over the edge. The wolves took up a spot near Naruto, falling asleep in the soft grass.

"Alright," he moaned and plopped down on the grass. He had a scowl on his face and I almost laughed.

"Ready, I'm gonna let the fire loose." Naruto nodded and I snapped my fingers taking off my control. I didn't need to snap, but I like the dramatics of it all. The fire immediately started to eat away at the leaf and Naruto pumped chakra into it. The leaf immediately burst into flames.

"This is gonna be a really long day," I said, watching Naruto pick up another leaf and from afar I lighted it. I looked at the sky. It was around eight in the morning. We probably won't be done until ten tonight and that's if we were lucky. Naruto started cursing as the leaf caught on fire again. He picked up another one, and the cycle repeated.

The cycle repeated and repeated, until the night fell and the moon rose high in the sky. I was laying in the tree staring at the clouds as they passed over the moon. Naruto got better throughout the day, the leaves lasting longer and longer and longer. He currently had this leaf for over thirty minutes. His chakra was almost gone, as was mine. I figured it was time for him to make a clone. Getting out of the tree, a breeze flew past. Sniffing the night air, I noticed there was a scent in the air. It was not human, or was just heavily concealed shinobi. But I swore the air smelled like ink.

"Morrigan, are we done with this exercise today?" Naruto asked panting heavily, just like he had been yesterday. I nodded and he dropped the leaf which burned to a crisp.

"Make a clone." I stood in front of him.

"_Boys, go check out the smell west of here. I don't know who it is exactly."_ The wolves immediately ran from the clearing, following the scent on the breeze.

"Okay," Naruto breathed out. He made the handsigns and a smoke appeared. I crossed my fingers and looked at the clone. It was a perfect Naruto. I immediately took a senbon out and threw it at the clone. It went to jump away and then crumbled on the ground. It looked good, but the structure was off still.

"Well that's better than yesterday, but we still need to work on your chakra control. You are very emotion driven, so you have to work twice as hard. I suspect the only reason you can manage it right now, is because you're exhausted. You have to really learn to control your chakra." I said this as the wolves returned.

"_Did you find anyone?"_ I asked them mentally.

"_No, he was fast and hid his smell well."_ Soubi said this calmly, but Arawn seemed very angry.

"_Stupid Soubi, I could have had him if I attacked when I wanted to."_ Arawn growled at Soubi as he said this mentally.

"_We were only supposed to find out what he wanted. Not kill and maim." _Soubi was calm as a cucumber, and merely looked at me. I sighed and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Try the clone again one more time and then we'll go home. Okay?" I looked to Naruto and he nodded, exhausted. He performed the handsigns once again and made a clone. It was the same as the last, but it was better than what he was doing yesterday.

"Good. We'll get some ramen and then go home." I turned and started to walk away when I heard a plop. Hoping Naruto wasn't unconscious, I turned and looked at the boy on the floor. He was passed out from exhaustion. I looked at the wolves, and they gave me a sympathetic look. I grabbed him and put him on my back. Teleporting to the apartment, I put him in bed.

"_I'm going to get some food. Watch him for me. He probably won't be awake until tomorrow morning, so don't worry."_ I pulled Arawn into weapon mode and told Soubi all this. I teleported to the street and walked around. For being around nine o'clock at night, there were a lot of people on the street. I pulled out my money and saw I had enough to buy myself a hot meal.

I walked around, with Arawn on my back and my tattoos showing, when I realized I ended up in the bad part of town. There were hookers on the corners and bars lined the streets. I looked at the drunks who were trying to walk on the side walk. I stopped in front of one bar and saw that it was quite empty. My stomach grumbled and I went inside, the bartender looking at me.

"We don't serve kids, get out." The bartender resumed drying the glasses, and turned away.

"You serve food here, bub?" I asked going to sit at a stool.

"I said we don't serve kids here. Now get lost." I took Arawn off my back and in a second I had his top blade at the bartender's neck. I pushed a little and his eyes bulged out, and he gulped.

"I am a Jounin in this godforsaken fucking village. I am hungry and I am lost. I don't want to have ramen, the diner I know is closed and the café isn't what I want right now. All this kid wants is a hot meal and maybe a whiskey on the rocks. I'm not looking to get drunk, because I kill people when drunk." I said venomously to the man. Last year while hunting, I had to kill a kid. It was hard, even for me, and I drank myself into a drunken stupor. During that time I killed four men, two women, and a couple of summons.

"Okay, I'm sorry kid. I didn't know you were a shinobi. I'll get you something to eat right away." I put Arawn back on my back and the bartender went off to get me some food. I looked at everyone in the bar and was glad they were all too drunk to notice. I smelled the air and noticed the smell of ink was close by.

"_That guy is back. What the hell does he want?"_ I asked Arawn, as the smell got closer to the bar.

"_I should have killed him when I got the chance."_

"_No. We can't kill people before we know if they're ANBU watching us. I don't want to get into too much trouble."_ The bartender came back with tonkatsu. The fired pork cutlet was on top of a bunch of white rice. It was hot and he placed it gently in front of me with some chopsticks. I picked up the plate and chopsticks.

"Thanks for the food," I muttered before digging in. The ink smell was closer and I turned to look at the back of the bar and saw a small person with a dark hood. You couldn't see their face, but the smell of ink was on him.

"What can I get you to drink kid?" the bartender asked politely.

"Whiskey on the rocks, and if you dare to think of drugging me you're dead. You're so dead that not even the wolves would want your rotting carcass. Understood?" I asked not once taking my eyes off the ink smelling stranger. I wanted him to know that I knew he was following me.

"The first one is on the house," the bartender said, putting my drink in front of me. I turned around and started eating my cutlet. Taking a swig of my whiskey, it burned only slightly. During my time alone and in World N I developed a taste for hard liquor. Even though my body was only a child, I could take a lot before actually being drunk. I thought it was because of Soubi, but it might be my genetics. Whatever, I really didn't know why. People might look down on a twelve year old drinking hard liquor, but I wasn't a drunk so they had no real reason to worry.

"Can I get another one?" I waved my glass at the bartender and he brought over another one. I finished my meal and drank my glass in silence. I could feel a slight buzz, and checked to see if my shadow was still there. They were, but I didn't know why the Hokage would assign an ANBU to trail me. Kakashi said I was part of the village and they stopped. He must be someone else. I finished my drink and paid the tab.

"Thanks bub. I might come back, if you don't mind of course," I looked to the bartender and he nodded sporadically. Must not get threatened a lot in this town. The whole village is really soft in my taste. I walked out the bar and it was around eleven. I had stayed in the bar for almost two hours. Figuring I would walk around some more, I headed down the street.

The ink smelling person followed me, not really keeping the range he had earlier. I guess he felt better with the wolves not being with me. I didn't care and started humming Kansas's 'Carry on my Wayward Son'. Continuing to the apartment, I smelled the ink person get closer. He was going to try and confront me. I stood on an abandoned street and turned. The hooded ink man stood on the opposite end of the street.

"Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more," I sang softly as I stared at the man. Waiting for him to make a move, I put my hands behind my back. I waited what felt like an eternity before speaking. "Who are you, and what exactly is your business with me?"

"Put your ANBU uniform on. Your presence is requested, huntress." The voice was male, but he didn't sound older than me. It was emotionless, and held some type of authority. I looked to him and saw the moon illuminate a blank ANBU mask.

"I'll be back right now." I teleported to the apartment, and looked for my ANBU outfit. Pulling on the black shinobi outfit, gold armor, and mask. I quickly bandaged the left side of my face and took off my normal black half-mask. Putting ANBU wolf's face on, I also made a shadow clone. The clone would stay with Naruto, and Soubi would come with me. Four minutes later, I popped into the street with Soubi at my side.

"Okay, let's go, bub." The boy turned and led me away. I followed, Soubi at my side, to an unknown location. This wasn't the way to headquarters. Where was he taking me? This guy is ANBU, but I am not being requested by the Hokage or ANBU leader. I should follow him anyway, to know what this guy wants.

We went to the side of the Hokage Monument and entered a secret entrance. The entrance led to an underground tunnel. The tunnel was damp and I could smell different entrances and paths. It was intricate, and I couldn't tell which other paths were dead ends or exits. I sometimes could smell fresh air, but the other paths were just too long to tell. The ANBU leading me was about my age, standing taller than me. He didn't speak and I didn't want to talk to him, not wanting to get caught off guard.

"_I do not like these tunnels, or this boy. We don't even know if they are part of ANBU officially."_ Soubi was on his toes and was extremely nervous. I could even feel Arawn's fear, which was extremely rare for him. My chakra was extremely low from making that Shadow clone and training for hours beforehand. But I had to make that Shadow Clone to watch Naruto, not wanting to leave him alone.

"_We will be fine. If a confrontation arises, we'll kill quickly and then teleport to the new house. We wouldn't want to lead them to Naruto."_ The boy came to a room and opened the door. Inside it was lighted by a couple of candles, and a man sat in the center. The man was as old as the Hokage, but in worse shape. He had his eye bandaged, as well as his arm. The man elicited an air of fear, but I wasn't afraid.

"ANBU wolf, thank you for joining us. I know it is late and you have been busy lately." The boy who led me here fell to his right knee bowing low. I looked at him and cocked my right hip, placing my hand on it in a sassy pose.

"Yah, my life's been pretty crazy since I came here. It was so much easier when I was alone." The old man waved his hand at the boy and the boy rose and went to his left. Soubi came next to me and sat, staring at the two strangers.

"Yes, I would agree that it has been crazy. Now I could bet you are wondering who I am and why you are here." I looked at him with a bored expression behind my mask and crossed my arms in a waiting fashion. The man glared at me and continued speaking, "I am Lord Danzo, and you are here because I believe you would be a good candidate for my organization."

"Your organization? Sounds devious," I waved my hand in a nonchalant fashion, "what's in it for me?"

"Excuse me?" the man said. He looked very angry at me. I guess people normally don't talk to him so nonchalantly. He seems like a man that either scares his subordinates into obeying or they obey because they're brainwashed.

"You heard me old man," I replied in a bored voice.

"You insolent little girl," he spat. Soubi tensed next to me and bared his teeth at him. I merely looked on at him, my arms crossed. "Didn't your training tell you to abandon all emotions? And who are you to answer me so casually? You are an ANBU, you are supposed to be blank and willing to take orders without question."

"Look old man, I didn't undergo training. I am a hunter, meant to kill anyone or anything, not some ANBU. I never wanted to become a shinobi here. The Hokage forced me, and I told him that I only do assassinations and eliminations, so he made me the only hunter-Nin here." I said this bluntly and the man looked even angrier. Be careful old man, you might blow a blood vessel.

"What was Hiruzen thinking?" the old man muttered under his breath.

"Look, I don't know what your organization is or why you want me, but if you make me an offer I might take it," I told him, going to examine my nails. I was pompous and didn't have any regard for his authority, but he called me here for a reason. He wanted me and my skills, so he would have to put up with my attitude.

"I don't think I want someone who has so little respect for me in my organization. Besides, you don't seem like a worthy shinobi now that I see you. You're nothing-" he never got to finish. I was behind him in a second, Arawn's blade at the front of his neck and ready to behead him. Soubi was on the ANBU, ready to crush his neck. I was fuming.

"Look old man," I whispered dangerously in his bandaged ear, "I know you're old and senile and ready to kick the bucket, but you don't want to die by my blade. I will make you suffer and let me tell you dying isn't really that painless. Now, I can kill you in a fucking second and I am highly capable of the title I hold. I don't hold respect for you, because I don't fucking respect anyone. I work to benefit me and only me, not for others and definitely not for this stupid-ass hierarchical village. You want me in your organization, you make me an offer I can benefit. If I like it, you won't have to worry about my disregard for your authority."

"I don't like you. I won't be sure that you would obey my orders. But I must admit that you do have the proper skills needed. You would make a very good addition to the organization."

"You don't have to like me. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. You let me kill people for you and give me some money, I'll do your evil bidding."

"Alright, I will make you an offer. I don't like your disrespectful attitude, but your willingness to kill for me is what I need." I teleported back to where I stood, exact same pose in place with Arawn back at my back. Soubi remained on the other ANBU.

"Soubi, release him. We have no need to be hostile against our own associates." I said this aloud and Soubi gave one last squeeze before teleporting to his previous pose. Danzo didn't appear too surprised, but there was some amazement in his visible eye.

"So what's his name?" I pointed to Danzo's bodyguard.

"You can call him Sai, you will be working with him a lot during your time. I expect you to be my right hand as well as a hunter." Right hand? I guess the saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer, is totally true.

"Very well. So what's our name exactly? Is there a uniform or something? Does the Hokage know about us?" I asked removing my mask. I had bandaged my scar so I wasn't self-conscious. I wanted Danzo to see my face and my expressions.

"The Hokage disbanded us a while back, but we are still needed. We are ROOT and we hold up the tree that is this village. We work in the shadows. As for a uniform as you put it, there is only a jacket that signifies we are of the ROOT. We do not answer to the Hokage. You will answer to me. Do you understand that?" I looked at Danzo as he finished his spiel. My face held no expression at all as I looked at him. Something about this man screamed jealousy.

"Let me guess you have wanted or still want to be Hokage?" I looked at him as his face turned into a scowl. "I'll take that as a yes. I addition to that, you believe the old man isn't running the village correctly. Which I have to agree, the village isn't really at the best possible condition it could be. The security is terrible and I am sure the old man let people who are dangerous to our village live. The old man is way too soft, if I was him, I would have killed me the minute I stepped in Fire country."

"You are correct that Hiruzen is too soft. As you are correct that the village isn't the best it could possibly be." Danzo looked at me and I felt suspicious.

"Well Danzo, this looks like the start of a beautifully evil relationship. I suggest that you not call upon me with Sai in that dress. He seems very suspicious and I hang around some higher ups. Sai could even pretend to be my friend, because after all you're going to have him tail me anyways." I looked to Sai and saw he was tense. He was probably on guard after we nearly killed him right now. I was ready to walk out when Danzo started again.

"Tomorrow night, you will have to come get sealed." Danzo said nonchalantly.

"Sealed? What for exactly?" I asked bringing a slight smile to my lips. I wanted another tattoo and wouldn't mind having one of a diabolical organization.

"A seal that would make you incapable of speaking about our organization to anyone not of it. For security purposes really." He looked at me and I swear I could feel his happiness at me getting sealed.

"Whatever," I said. The seal would probably be on the tongue and I felt a little disappointed. "I'm going on a hunter mission next week. If you want me to take someone out when I'm there, tell me tomorrow. I expect a stipend for doing your dirty work."

"Very well. If you need to contact me, you may come here or have Sai lead you to where I will be. You are my personal hunter now. Whoever I say to kill, you kill. Do you understand?" Danzo actually smiled when he asked this. The smile was disarming and I knew I looked like a deer in headlights. The smile spoke words that if I didn't agree I was dead, and a lot of that he was one crazy bastard.

"Look, I don't plan on just being your puppet. I want to be your right hand woman, learn this organization front and back. I don't like taking orders, I like giving them." I wanted to be high up in this place. It was a risk should the Hokage come down on us, but I wasn't one to be at the bottom of the totem pole. If I was going to be in this organization, I wanted to rule it. I wanted to be the head once he died.

"Why would I tell you everything? Do you plan on overthrowing me?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, because when you're dead and gone I want to take over. Or did you think that this little organization would go down with you?" I asked raising my eyebrow slightly. His face said that he thought it would end with him. "Oh, you actually did. I don't like that idea. I would like to be the head of this organization and carry on your protection of the village. I don't care really about the village but if you give me ROOT, I'll use it to fulfill your wishes."

"Why should I trust you?" Danzo asked quite scared of me right now. I was like a homicidal maniac, who wanted control of his organization and in all reality was ready to kill anyone. If I was more shrewd I probably would secure myself as his right hand then kill him, but he's old enough that I could wait.

"I'm not going to kill you old man. You'll die soon enough without me hurrying you. The fact of the matter is, if I am going to be in this organization I might as well be the head. You will need me. I will be your extra ears and eyes in the village. I am as you put it, your personal hunter and for that I want to be your right hand, your successor."

"_Do you think this wise? He seems like he could kill us in our sleep without any remorse."_ Soubi looked to me with wise eyes.

"_This man will be using us to kill. When he dies, where will that leave us? We want to keep doing this. This is where we will belong in this village. This is our path."_ Arawn would want to lead a bunch of killers. In all actuality I would want to use this organization to keep the balance. Our purpose in this life is to keep the world in balance, this organization would make it much better. Besides, who knows, maybe this village will grow on us and we'll want to keep it safe.

"Very well. I will train you to be my successor. But you must follow my every command." He said this with a smile, thinking he caught me to do anything he wanted. He would probably want me to kill old man Hokage.

"I will do it if I think it beneficial. Like I said, I serve only myself right now. I am not your slave. I will be your hunter because I want to hunt them. I will be your right hand because I want the organization. I will be your eyes and ears because I want you to see and hear. I don't plan on crossing you, but you can't do something so bat-shit crazy. Understood? You may take it or leave it right now, it's a one time offer. I'll wait outside the door and when you're ready you tell me." I wanted to make sure that he knew I wouldn't do just anything for him. He was crazy if he thought I would do something that might come back to me. Everything I would do would be because I wanted to. Walking out the door, I leaned against the wall. I wanted to hear what he would say.

"I don't believe she can be trusted Danzo-sama. She has already shown that she is willing to kill us, and she doesn't seem like she wants to be completely loyal." Sai was one smart cookie, I had to give him that. He said all this expressionlessly, and I wondered how far off my brainwashing comment was.

"I know, but she makes some good points. I don't have a successor and she seems like the person who could possibly make it work. She isn't afraid to kill if needed. Her loyalty is questionable, but her willingness to use her skills is helpful. I can't risk anyone who is hidden here. She is disposable if captured," Danzo replied, calculating my offer. That's why he wanted me so badly. I wasn't really an effort to make and therefore if lost it didn't harm his plans. He probably has trained Sai since birth, while I'm just a piece that landed in his lap.

"I do not like how she says she'll kill if she wants it. It seems like she is making an opening for herself."

"Yes, but we can have another who can take the jobs she doesn't want. She'll take those which she deems fit and I won't have to risk one of those I recruited earlier. Besides her skills rival your own in assassination. If we make her want it, she'll do it. She is loyal if she likes us well enough. I see part of myself in her. The willingness to do what is needed." Danzo was quiet for some time before Sai called me back in.

"I agree to your terms. We will work on equal footing. I will train you to be my successor and you will do what you see as right." Danzo really did like me. It was surprising because he didn't seem like a very trusting man. Maybe it was because I said I would fight for his cause, or maybe because he saw I was capable of doing what had to done.

"Excellent. Tomorrow night I will come here and will be sealed. I suspect that you have a seal on you which controls all the seals in ROOT." Danzo looked at me surprised.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I worked on seals quite heavily in my training and although I am not a master I am quite adept. For a seal to work as you said, there must be a master seal which prevents things spoken from him. I expect to get that seal tomorrow."

"Very well. As my successor you will gain that seal." I nodded to him. I really didn't know why he trusted me so much. Could you really find no one in Konoha who would take on killing this easily? Maybe they were all loyal to the Hokage? That was it. They were all born and raised here, so they felt loyalty stronger than an outsider. They would never go against the Hokage. He probably had everyone who was in the organization brainwashed, therefore they wouldn't be a good successor. They wouldn't know how to lead the organization. I would, because he could teach me to think like him, not think like his subordinate.

"Excellent. I will get my jacket tomorrow also. I expect it to be down to the ankle. I hate short jackets and it will signify I am head with you." I looked to Danzo, who looked at Sai. Sai nodded and I suspect he was the one going to get my stuff. "Great. Well then, until tomorrow."

I immediately teleported to the house. Soubi looked at me and I sighed. What had I gotten myself into? I think I just made a deal with the devil. I groaned and sat down on the floor.

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**Hey everybody. Longer chappie today. Love the song at the beginning. Also, yah, that's it really. Review, Fav, Follow, Read again. Loves yous lots. **

**(_I do not own Naruto)_**


	13. He Might be a Gentleman Yet

"**You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner." (Elizabeth Bennett)"**

― **Jane Austen, **_**Pride and Prejudice**_

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"We just became the successor to an illegal, black ops organization. What was I fucking thinking? I want to leave. What happened to I'm a free person, a hunter, a Shinigami child? We can't stay here forever! I don't even want to stay here!" The realization of my actions just hit me. I was laying in the middle of my house, in full ANBU dress minus the mask. I had thrown my mask carelessly to the side, and had started yelling.

"_Calm down,"_ Soubi scolded me.

"_Why? This shit isn't what we are supposed to do!"_ I mentally screamed at him. He shied away from me, still in wolf form.

"_We aren't really supposed to do anything in particular. At the moment we are not balancers and therefore do not have to worry about the state of good and evil. We can be the head of an evil organization if we want to."_ Arawn was right in the fact we didn't have a purpose right now.

"_Maybe that's our problem. We can't survive without a definite purpose. I was made into a Shinigami, therefore I should follow the rules and duties of a Shinigami."_ I was waving my hands erratically in the air. I had no idea what to do.

"_We are not Shinigami. We are part Shinigami, therefore we don't have to follow the rules of full blooded Shinigami,"_ Soubi said wisely.

"_Yah, but what are we going to do with an evil organization which protects a village we don't even want to belong to?"_ I asked my other two minds.

"_We protect the village,"_ Arawn answered dryly, like it was clear as day.

"_I don't want to be a part of this fucking village. This isn't what our purpose is!"_ I yelled back at them. They weren't giving me the responses I wanted to hear.

"_The place where you are in error is that we don't have a purpose. There is no purpose for us. We have no purpose as a human, as a Shinigami, or as an immortal. Therefore we must find our own purpose which we deem correct, not because it was assigned to us because of what we are."_ Right, we aren't really anything in particular. That was our problem in life: we were an anomaly and therefore had no purpose.

"_So what is our purpose?"_ I asked my mind. I said this ever so softly, fear creeping into my heart. What if we never have a purpose?

"_What do you want our purpose to be? Do you want to become a shinobi here? There is nothing which holds us back from that. We can become a shinobi regardless of what we are." _Arawn answered this in a contemplating voice.

"_But, I don't want to be loyal to a village." _

"_Why?"_ both voices asked in unison.

I looked deep into my mind. Why don't I want to be loyal? Being loyal meant protecting others. I wasn't really stuck on protecting others, actually it sounded pretty nice. Having people depend on you was a comforting thought. No, the area which made my fear come up, was me depending on them. I don't trust them enough to have my back. I lived so much for myself that I didn't know how to depend on others because of my fear. Besides, I wasn't human, and therefore a freak. I was a monster. Subconsciously, my hand went to my face and I felt my scar through my bandages. They would hate me. They won't trust me if they knew what I was. They don't even trust me now.

"_I don't trust people, because when they find out what we are, they'll hate us,"_ I told the boys.

"_How do you know?"_ Soubi asked. He brought up a valid point. We hadn't shown what we were to people in this world yet.

"_But fear of the different is the same everywhere. It doesn't matter where we go, we are one of a kind, therefore we will be feared everywhere." _I said this sadly and my hand which was on my scar felt wet. I rubbed my eye, to find I was crying. I hadn't cried since the goodbye with my adoptive family. I rubbed my eyes over and over, making them raw. Soubi came up to me in wolf form and nuzzled my cheek.

"_We do not have to be afraid. We don't have to tell anyone about us. This will stay a secret and we will never have to worry about being rejected," _Arawn said, changing into wolf form and coming to comfort me.

"_But one day it will get out," _I said. I knew it would get out. We can't contain it forever.

"_By then, everyone will see you as Morrigan and not as a monster. They will know you and not care about what we are."_ Soubi's words made me happy. To think that maybe someone would accept us, was unthinkable and filled me with pure happiness.

"_As it is, you don't want to leave this village,"_ Arawn said when I had finally stopped crying.

"_I fucking do,"_ I said, looking at him like he was crazy.

"_You don't. If you really did want to leave, we would have left before we met Naruto. We had enough power to go back to Mist. But you chose to stay here. You chose take the assessment to become an ANBU and not a regular Jounin. You chose to get the tattoo and ANBU uniform. You chose to buy this house. You also chose to become successor to ROOT."_ Arawn did have a point. I could have gotten out of this village any time I wanted. Instead I followed the directions of the Hokage and went about living here.

"_I have stayed here. For what end though? I have always thought that living in a village would not work for me. But then again here I am ANBU black ops shinobi, successor to ROOT, home owner, and badass teacher. Why have we stayed?"_ I asked them. Maybe they knew why, because I don't really have a clue. I say I want to leave, but then I feel like why should I?

"_We've stayed because we were accepted. The Hokage may have forced us to stay, but he wanted to help us. He wanted us to live here and that is the first time anyone has ever wanted us. When you first met the family in Oregon, they didn't want you. Face it, we became very close but we weren't accepted the minute we arrived. Here they want us." _Soubi looked at me with soulful wolf eyes. His blue orbs reminded me of Naruto, and I thought about everyone here. Naruto immediately wanted me to train him. The Hokage wanted to use our skills. Hell, even Danzo had wanted to make me his personal hunter. Here they found us useful, worth purpose.

"_So because we are welcomed, we are wanted, that is the reason why we stay? It makes sense. We have never been truly accepted anywhere else. Maybe that is why I wanted to be head of ROOT. Not for the blood-lust or even the thrill of power, but because we will be accepted by them. I am actually a very lonely person, looking for acceptance and attention. But even if I am lonely, I still don't trust people enough to let them in. Therefore our life up until now, has been spent alone. Man are we fucked up."_ I looked at the roof, and laid down in silence.

"_Yes, but we can change that. We are accepted here, and later, even if we show our true form, those close to us won't care. This village will protect us and we don't have to be lonely anymore due to our fear."_ Soubi said this with a wolfy smile on his face. He said 'we' and 'our', because he feels the same way I do. Even though we have each other and Arawn, it still isn't the same for us.

I thought about everything that had just been revealed. Maybe we should protect this village. The people here don't hate us and we have even made a few friends. Naruto is growing very close to us, and as bad as Kakashi is, we talk to him openly. Maybe we should become closer with the Hokage and even Danzo's bodyguard, Sai.

"_It is decided, we will become the protectors of this village. We will become the head of ROOT and use them to keep the people safe. Lastly we will gain friends, so we will never feel the pain and sting of loneliness ever again. Getting over our fear will be a big step and I don't expect us to trust anyone anytime soon. But over time, we will learn to trust. Okay boys?"_ I asked cheerily. We had a new purpose in our life. Even though we gave ourselves this purpose, it will serve us for all time. This purpose will make us better.

"_Right,"_ the boys replied in unison. I looked out a large window in the living room and saw that the sun was rising. I didn't need to sleep, so I figured I would go back to the apartment. Teleporting into the apartment, I let the shadow clone disperse. Naruto was fast asleep still, and I grabbed clothes to take a shower. I came out with my hair around a towel and my face free of tear stains. My half black mask replaced the bandages I had on. I had a long red skirt that went to my ankles with two slits on the side going up to my mid-thigh with black leggings and black converse. My shirt was a blood red muscle shirt which showed my sealed-arms and ANBU tattoo.

"What time is it?" I asked no one in particular. I looked at Naruto's alarm clock and saw that it was a little before seven. We had to pick up furniture at eight, but I needed to get us some food. Nodding to Soubi, he went to wake up Naruto. Meanwhile I went through Naruto's wallet which laid on the floor. I was all out of money and wanted breakfast. Checking, he had enough for the café with onigiri.

"What are you doing with my wallet?" Naruto asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning.

"We need money for breakfast. I'll go on a mission next week, but until then we'll have to live off of your stipend. I'm gonna go get some onigiri, you get ready. We can't be fucking late to pick up the furniture." He rose from the bed and nodded sleepily. I called Arawn into weapon mode and teleported to the café. Going in, I got a dozen onigiri, half plain and half roasted. Deciding not to waste too much money, I didn't get any drinks. I teleported back to the apartment to see Naruto dressed and packing stuff into scrolls I had given him.

"Food's here. I suggest we only have one now and eat the rest as we go along. We still have to do training today." Naruto groaned while he picked up a roasted onigiri and started eating. I grabbed a plain one and ate it quickly. There had been a line at the café, so it was ten before eight o'clock right now.

"_Can you guys grab all the stuff in here that's going and take it to the house?" _I asked the boys. They both agreed and I finished my onigiri.

"Okay, let's go," I said when Naruto was done. I let Arawn back out in his wolf form. Grabbing Naruto's arm, I was ready to teleport. But then I remembered he just ate and I didn't want him to barf. I let go of his arm and jumped out of the window. Running, we made it to the furniture store at 8:05. The lady glared at Naruto, but after I returned the glare she stopped.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up my stuff. Name is under Morrigan." I looked at her and she gestured to go to the back. There in the back of the store in a large storage room was our furniture. It was in a large pile and I was glad it would be easy to transport.

"Naruto, wait here for a second and let me check if Kakashi is here." I almost forgot I asked him to help us move. I went outside and looked up and down the street. There was no sign of the silver-haired porn reader. Smelling the air discreetly, I smelled him across town. I also smelled Sai nearby, him having picked up on my chakra at the apartment.

"Fucker isn't going to show up," I muttered to myself as I re-entered the store. Going to the back, I found the lady full out glaring at Naruto. Placing a venomous smile on my face I turned to the woman.

"Thank you, but your assistance won't be needed. You would merely get in the way." The woman's jaw dropped and I smiled innocently after that. She exited the room, and I turned to Naruto.

"Hey, who is Kakashi?" he asked looking at me suspiciously.

"You remember the wound I got from the assessment?" I asked him.

"Yah."

"You remember the guy who came to check up on me?"

"The ANBU?" he asked confused.

"Yes the Hound. His name is Kakashi and I asked him to help us move. Fucker is sleeping in, so we gotta do this by ourselves which won't be very hard actually." I cracked my knuckles and looked at Naruto who was thoroughly confused.

"How are we going to move this stuff?" he replied.

"I am gonna teleport it of course. Now get on top of the bed and hold on."

"But I don't wanna teleport! It hurts," he whined. I looked at him and smiled.

"This technique takes more energy, but it won't hurt you. Trust me." I called Arawn to me in weapons form. He had been at the house, laying down with all the stuff they transported. Naruto looked at me suspiciously and I grinned. Then tapping Arawn on the floor twice a gaping black hole opened, and all the stuff fell through along with me and Naruto.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH. What is this?" Naruto screamed as the light above us disappeared.

"Shut up. You're fine. Just don't let go," I yelled at him. He was being a big baby. The black hole was the space between worlds. If I had visited a place, I could always teleport to it, but I was blind going in. I wouldn't know if there were people there or if a jutsu was being cast. This technique took up more power, but I could see in real time what was going on in a location. It also had the ability to transport more than what I was just holding or touching.

"Okay," Naruto answered, scared to death. I rolled my eyes, tapping Arawn on the darkness while visualizing the backyard of the house. There was a very large clearing surrounded by the trees, the white-picket fence disappearing into the forest. Soubi was currently resting on the back doorstep and was waiting for us. I pushed us through the space between worlds and we popped onto the grass. Naruto immediately jumped from the bed and kissed the ground.

"You'll get used to it, don't worry." Turning away from him I removed the seals on the house. Immediately we went to work on putting the house together. It was around noon when we took a break for lunch. There were only the two guest rooms left, but I was leaving those for Kakashi. He said he would help, but he never said he would be here on time. Might as well leave some work for the bastard.

"We're going to start your training, okay?" I asked Naruto, popping the rest of my third onigiri into my mouth. He began to bounce up and down eager to learn what he was going to do. I grabbed a leaf from my side and handed it to him. He immediately stopped bouncing.

"Why do I have to do that again? Can't I do something cooler?" I looked at him and wondered. What chakra control exercises could I make him do? Looking at the tree in front of me I smiled.

"You're going to climb that tree." I pointed to the tree, then pulled out a kunai. Immediately I threw it thirty feet up, and looked at Naruto. "And you have to get the kunai."

"That's easy." Naruto turned to the tree and began to climb like a monkey.

"No, not like that," I said to him. He jumped off the tree, while I stuck my feet onto it using chakra. I walked up the tree and looked down at an amazed Naruto. "Like this. Now the trick is to use the perfect amount of chakra. Too much and you'll either blast off or create a crater in the tree. Too little and you fall off. Do you think you could do that?"

"You better believe I can!" Naruto jumped up and down, excited once more. I teleported to my previous spot and let him try to walk on the tree.

"I suggest a running start for beginners." Naruto ran up the tree and got almost ten feet before he blasted the tree. Today was going to be another long day. The wolves began to stir and I sniffed the air. Walking out to the front I saw a familiar head of silver.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I asked Kakashi, not really that peeved. I knew he wasn't going to help immediately and therefore didn't wait on him.

"Well, you see, last night there was this little old lady who lost her cat. I, being the good citizen I am went to look for it, but found it dead. We had to have a funeral service this morning for him," he lied.

"Well, I'm sorry for your loss," I said dryly, letting him know I didn't buy it.

"So, I see you have everything finished." He looked pleased with himself at the idea of not doing any work.

"No, we left you some stuff to do. Follow me," his eye smile immediately dropped as he followed me to the backyard. There were only two dressers, two beds, and two mattresses to move, so it wouldn't take him long. Naruto was on the floor, having used too little chakra this time.

"It's all in the balance. Remember yesterday and the amount you used and transfer it to your feet," I told him, ruffling his hair. I gestured for Kakashi to get started and figured I would make some tea for us. Moving into the kitchen I finished the tea at the same time Kakashi finished moving everything. The wolves immediately moved to go put on the bedding for each new bed, while I smiled at their helpfulness.

"They certainly are helpful." Kakashi said, looking at them as they went by.

"They try," I replied, handing him some tea. I moved outside and sat in the clearing watching Naruto try to climb the tree.

"He is doing pretty well for his first time," I remarked looking at Kakashi who was sitting next to me. "His chakra control is shit and he has so much chakra, he has to train extra hard. I feel bad for him always being at a disadvantage."

"He isn't always at a disadvantage."

"He is. He isn't a genius or rather intelligent, so he has to learn things differently from you or me. Then he has to train extra hard to get the same control as everyone else who work half as much. Finally other people sabotage him and his training." I sipped my tea looking at the wolves who came out to lay in the sun.

"Sabotage him?" Kakashi asked, turning to me.

"I found his kunai were unbalanced. All of them were, which means they were purposely given to him. Lots of people must not want him to become a shinobi, though I don't understand why." Reaching into the food box, I got another roasted onigiri. Offering it to Kakashi, he took it. I pulled out a plain one for myself.

"I didn't think they would go far enough to sabotage him. He is at the Academy and doubt the instructors would do that." Kakashi seemed doubtful, but I could tell he believed what I had said.

"You don't know how it is for him. The looks he gets are awful. When I went to him after getting hurt I asked him why they stared at him and he said, 'they hate me'. He then proceeded to ask me why I wasn't afraid of him. For a fucking twelve year old boy to ask you 'why aren't you afraid', is atrocious." I bit hard into my onigiri taking out some anger on it. We sat in silence for the rest of the afternoon, just staring at Naruto as he trained.

Kakashi left around four and I watched Naruto train for another six hours. It was already ten o'clock at night, and Naruto still had yet to reach the kunai. He was more than halfway there, but was all out of chakra.

"Naruto try making a clone," I told him after he came down from the tree. He looked at me and nodded. Crossing my fingers, I watched as there was a slight poof of smoke and a perfect Naruto came into being. I grabbed a senbon and threw it at the clone who promptly dodged. It was perfect. There were no mistakes. I looked at Naruto and smiled.

"I did it?" he asked a little unsure. He had failed so many times that he didn't know what success really felt like.

"You did great bub. Now make clones until you pass out." Naruto beamed and made almost ten perfect clones before he fell to the floor. Arawn cushioned his fall this time and I went and picked him up. Carrying him into the house, I took off his jacket and tucked him in bed. It was amazing how he didn't damage himself like this. I ruffled his hair and looked down on him, a smile on my face.

"_Sai is here,"_ Soubi said to me mentally.

"_I'll be right there."_ Walking to the living room, I saw Sai standing there with non-ANBU dress. He wore a hitai-ate at his forehead. He wore a black jacket with red straps that showed his stomach and the right sleeve long and left short. He had on regular black shinobi pants and regular black sandals. He was unworldly pale in the moonlight with the most jet black hair. His face was emotionless and my heart was immediately pained. Was that how I looked when I buried my emotions?

"Is it time to go?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said emotionlessly. He turned his back and started to walk out the door. When I didn't move, he turned back to me.

"Grab my arm, this'll be faster." I extended my arm to him. He looked at me with what seemed like suspicion on his face, but I couldn't really tell. He hesitantly grabbed my arm, and I pulled him a little closer to me. "This might hurt a little, ok?"

"Ok."

"We're going to the room we met Danzo, is that alright?" I asked him, just to be safe. He nodded and tensed, ready for the teleport. I teleported with Sai and the wolves a moment later. When we arrived Danzo looked surprised and was holding a tip less tanto. His face was one of hidden fury and authority, just like yesterday.

"Calm down Danzo. This way was faster and I don't really feel like being seen going into the tunnels." Sai was on his knees gasping for breath.

"What did you do to him?" he asked accusingly.

"Pipe down, I told him it would hurt. He is gonna need some time to get used to it if we're gonna work together. Besides, it won't really kill him," I told Danzo casually. He looked doubtful but didn't question what I said.

"Very well, you'll be sealed when Sai recovers. Here is your ROOT jacket. It differs slightly from the one regular ROOT members wear." The old man handed me a blood red jacket with black straps. I opened it up to find it was ankle-length and made of what felt like flame-resistant material. I smiled at Danzo, and he was taken aback.

"Thanks bub. It looks great." Danzo surprisingly allowed a small smile to come to his lips, happy that I approved of his selection. Sai had finally caught his breath and stood next to me.

"Sai, you know what to do." Danzo waved us out, usual scary face back in place. The wolves and I followed Sai from the room and down a series of hallways. When we finally came to a door, Sai opened it and walked in. inside the room were candles and a concrete floor. This was a sealing room and I looked around I wonder. I had never actually been sealed by someone else since I learned how to seal. Not liking other people touching me, I didn't even let Akane seal me anymore.

"You have to take your tops off. The seal is quite large and has to go on your back. Danzo-sama has his on his chest, but he said that it would be inappropriate for you." Sai gathered his things and I felt touched Danzo was thinking about my comfort. Of course he could be putting a death seal on my back where I couldn't see, but the wolves would catch it.

"Okay," I replied stripping my shirt, but hesitating at my bandaged chest. My chest had many scars and I was embarrassed by them. I looked to Sai and he seemed to wonder why I hadn't taken off the bandages. "Ummm, can you turn around please?"

"Why?" he asked, emotionlessly. I began to feel my face turn red. There is nothing to be blushing about. He doesn't seem like the type to do something inappropriate, but maybe the emotionlessness was all an act. Maybe he was some pervert. Maybe I was the pervert thinking he would want to see my body. But then again who would want to see me. I was scar-filled and tattooed. To most people that would be extremely ugly.

I turned around, knowing he wasn't going to turn around anytime soon. I quickly unbandaged myself and looked over my shoulder at him. He gestured for me to lay down on the ground. Covering myself I laid stomach down on the cold floor. I shivered slightly, but held still as Sai began to work.

"Sai?" I asked after a while. I was curious about his emotionless demeanor.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Why do you act so emotionlessly?"

"Because emotions get in the way of the mission."

"The mission? What mission?"

"Any mission you are assigned. You live for the mission. You are nameless, because names aren't part of the mission. There is only the goal of fulfilling the mission." He said this all like a robot and I realized Danzo had brainwashed his operatives.

"Do you feel anything?" I asked after quite some time.

"No."

"You're going to have to start feeling emotions Sai." I didn't want to work with someone who was a robot. That wasn't any way to live. When Danzo lets me have more control, I would begin by having them learn about humanity. What Danzo had them as, they were no more than puppets for his bidding. They were men and women without humanity.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because if you are going to work with me, you can't be like this. You have to learn how to interact with others on what you can pass off as emotions. You're no good to me like this."

"This is my new mission?" he asked a little bit of uncertainty in his voice. It was the closest to emotions I had gotten out of him.

"I know you might not see it right now, but you have to learn to be a human with emotions. You have to learn to be normal." I couldn't stand to see him like this. My mission is to protect those in the village and lead ROOT in the right direction.

"Very well, I will confront Danzo-sama about your mission for me." He replied having finished the seal on my back. He pumped chakra into me and I could feel the seal burn into my skin. Tattooing was definitely less painful than these seals. The skin on my back felt like it was melting off the bone. I let out a slight whine as the pain grew worse and then faded away.

"Yes, and if he doubts the mission, tell him he can ask me about it. But I expect you to start reading on how people interact with one another. Do you understand me?" I asked lying on the ground, catching my breath.

"Yes."

"Good. Now hand me my shirt please." Sai hesitated but after an encouraging smile he went and picked up my shirt for me. A second later it was in my face and Sai promptly turned around. Putting on my shirt I hissed at the pain, but grinned at Sai. With some guidance, he wouldn't be too bad of a gentleman.

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**Yay new chappie. Super tired, so fave, follow, review, obsess... please... (DO NOT OWN NARUTO)**


	14. Conflicting Emotions

"**There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life."**

― **John Lennon**

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After the sealing with Sai I teleported back home. It was around midnight, but I didn't really feel all that tired. The wolf instinct in me wished to hunt during the night. I couldn't exactly go around town and kill anyone I saw. That would be highly inappropriate, seeing as how I wanted to protect the village.

Going to the front yard, I went under the weeping willow. Feeling the tree's life energy. I could tell it had seen many things in its lifetime. Stretching my new jacket out, I used it as a blanket and took off my mask. It was dark enough that no one could else my face unless I allowed them too.

_"Guys, what do you think of Sai?"_ I asked Soubi and Arawn. They were still in wolf form and laid at my feet.

_"You are curious about him. I myself do not trust him. He is too unpredictable."_ Soubi was wary of anyone he couldn't read.

_"I think you like him,"_ Arawn said, chuckling. I choked on my own spit and coughed. The night no longer had that comforting silence. Instead I felt awkward and the silence only intensified it.

"_Why the fuck would you say that?"_ I mentally screamed at Arawn. What the hell was he smoking?

_"You were embarrassed at the sealing and you want to help him,"_ he said while he looked at the moon.

_"We made it our purpose to help others and especially ROOT. I was embarrassed because I had to take off my clothes in front of him. If I wasn't embarrassed that would be abnormal."_ Arawn was going crazy, if those were his reasons.

_"You wait and see. I will be right and when the time comes, I will say 'I told you so'."_ I snorted out of my nose and laughed.

_"Arawn you are crazy. What do you say Soubi,"_ I asked looking at the golden wolf. He looked like he was thinking and I looked back up at the moon. It was especially beautiful today.

_"I don't think you hold feelings for the boy. I think you sympathize about his lack of emotions, and that you see what others saw of you. You think that at the heart of his emotionless mask is fear." _

I thought about what Soubi said. Maybe there is fear in the depth of his heart. I buried my emotions because I was scared and to some degree lonely. Maybe Sai was lonely and was afraid of what the future held for him. This all is speculation because I don't know what he went through. But I will and I will know if he has fears or doubts. There was this need in me to help him, and I couldn't just stand by doing nothing.

I looked to the crescent moon and saw the clouds roll over its face. Sometimes I wonder how the sky here could look so similar to the sky in World C. The whole universe was so confusing. Sometimes I could do normal things and wonder how there could be so many different worlds while I'm just here. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Where you stand, you will always think you are at the center of the universe. Your sense of self will always have you in the middle, and you can't really be anyone else. What a weird thought: you are you and can never be someone else. There were worlds where the life forces didn't have a sense of self. Maybe they are all each other, and none of them are truly one.

Sighing, I smelled the air. Naruto was fast asleep, his chakra already half replenished. Then there was Kakashi, who was actually just leaving the village for a mission. I concentrated a little harder and could smell Sai behind the house concealing his smell and chakra heavily. He probably figured out I could smell him and figured he would keep some distance. And that's when I felt it.

At first it started out like I could feel the entire village. It was hyper-awareness of people, and I stopped breathing. It was so powerful, and I was panicking. The wolves looked to me and tried to get me to calm down. My breathing steadied and I forced myself to pinpoint the points. They were people, but then I became even more aware of Sai.

"_Focus on him,"_ Soubi ordered me. I focused on him and it was like I was him. Our senses almost were the same, but weren't. His mind was like water and I was like oil, neither mixing together but both liquids were highly aware of one another. The calm which I had gathered left me once again and I became totally hysterical.

"Sai," I choked out. My breathing was stopped once again and I clutched my head. I could feel others, what they were doing. What is this? I felt Sai come to me, and I covered the scarred side of my face with my hand.

"Morrigan-sama, are you alright?" he asked, his face lined with what would be emotionless concern. I looked to him and felt tears of pain. This was all too much, and I began to think that Sai really did put a death seal on me.

"What?" I said raspy through breaths.

"It is the seal. You have activated it. Danzo-sama knew it would take some time, but this is earlier than expected." Sai crouched down and looked into my face. I still had my left hand covering my cheek and I looked back at him. "You must calm down. Danzo-sama said that you would have to accept the minds you are conscious of. We will not hurt you, but if you appear to be in danger everyone will come."

I nodded stiffly and tried to breathe again. The wolves were next to me trying to rub my back comfortingly. The rubbing was helping but I was still afraid of this feeling. I looked to Sai, when Arawn pushed him into me. Arawn led his hand to my back using his mouth, and grabbing his arm mimicked an up and down motion. Through my fear, I glared at Arawn. He was trying to play damn matchmaker when I felt like I was dying!

"May I, Morrigan-sama?" Sai asked, emotionless as always. I nodded stiffly once again and Sai started to rub my back sitting next to me. The seal hurt when he touched it, but I slowly became calm. Soubi left my side and got my mask, which I promptly put on. I turned my face upwards and concentrated on the moon and the night air. My breathing was once again normal, as I could feel the ROOT members in the village.

"Is this what Danzo feels?" I asked softly, my voice raspy and dry. I looked at Sai and saw his face was contorted in different emotions. He couldn't understand what he was feeling. His own emotions being so alien to him. I had been the crack in the dam of his façade and the dam just broke, flooding his senses.

"What happened Sai? Are you okay?" I gently coaxed him. He looked to me with confusion, not having removed his hand from the small of my back.

"I don't know," he admitted quietly.

"What does it feel like?"

"I feel…," he struggled for the right word as I patiently breathed in and out. "Warm."

"Warm? Where do you feel warm? Is it like a fever or sickness warm?" He needed to be a little more specific.

"In my chest. Here," he gestured to the middle of chest and continued, "it happened when you were getting better and calmed down."

I was a little confused. I didn't know exactly with that description. Looking to Soubi, I found him staring at Sai.

"_What did he feel?"_ I asked the demon, knowing he had a hunch.

"_He felt relief. He was relieved that you felt okay."_ I sent him thanks and turned to Sai who was looking down. He was scared. This was one of the first emotions he felt in what I would assume was a very long time, and he hasn't read up on how one would feel yet. Lightly putting a finger on his chin, I raised his face so he would look at me.

"Relief. You felt relieved I was unharmed. It happens when the person worries you, but everything turns out alright." I smiled reassuringly at him when he tried to comprehend my words. Purposely I didn't tell him that the person had to be important for you to worry. That would only confuse him, and I really didn't want to know why he saw me as important when he was so emotionless to me.

Sai nodded slowly and took his hand back. He stared at his hand and I almost asked him what was wrong, but thought better of it. He could only handle so much in so little time. I turned back to the sky and laid down on my soft grass. The moon was past its peak and I could see it was around four. With a breeze through the trees Sai left and I was alone. Closing my eyes I felt the bond with ROOT. I could feel all the members and they were alert and on guard. Thinking of a solution, I tried to send a calming feel through the bond. The consciousness of others threatened to once again over run me, but I forced the calm to wash over me and everyone.

"_This just got a lot harder for me to keep my sanity. I can only take so many people in my head."_ Looking into the sky, I put my hands behind my head and fell asleep.

* * *

"Oi, Morrigan why are you out here?" asked an all too perky voice. I groaned and noticed light through my closed lids.

"Go away," I replied, feeling the wolves sandwiching me. Must have been cold and they warmed me up. Wait where was my jacket? Oh, well, I don't really care right now.

"But's it's time for me to start training."

"Go make clones until you drop." The voice was going to complain but I opened one yellow eye and glared. Naruto quickly shied away and went to make clones in the backyard. I closed my eye and tried to get more rest. I fell back asleep, but was woken up by Naruto poking me.

"What do you want now?" I asked grumpily.

"I just wanted to make sure I could still wake you up." Still wake me up? Then it hit me. I had told him that should I ever not wake up for him to write an SOS. I quickly sat up and felt my head rush. The feeling of the ROOT members came back to me and I almost choked.

"_Breath in slowly,"_ Soubi said as Arawn went to distract Naruto. I breathed in slowly, calming my beating heart, while watching Arawn drag Naruto away.

"_That's going to take a long time to get used to." _

"_Yes, the seal is very powerful and makes a connection with everyone with a matching seal. I don't think the connection lets them feel you as much as you feel them."_ Soubi wondered what the nature of this seal really was. I just hoped that they wouldn't know too much about me.

"Make some clones. Let's see how good you've gotten," I said getting up and walking to Naruto's side.

"I've gotten really good! I am gonna be the best Hokage yet! Believe it!" I rubbed my temples feeling a migraine coming on. Naruto began doing handsigns and a perfect clone was made. Getting a kunai from my pouch, the clone barely dodged. For Naruto to make the clones without being exhausted was a real improvement. I looked to Naruto and grinned at him.

"Good job bub. Now try to make more than one," I went to the backyard and took up a space in a tree to watch Naruto. "By the way, how long have you been making clones?"

"Six hours. I tried to wake you up at nine," he yelled making two incomplete clones. Watching him for a couple of hours, when my stomach began to growl. I hadn't eaten dinner yesterday or breakfast today, and it was already three. I walked into my house and grabbed the last onigiri. Naruto probably saved it for me. I smiled at his kindness, going to walk to the backyard.

"_Someone's here,"_ Arawn told me. I knew there was someone near the house and I knew them, but they were fast to make it to the house in such little time. Going to the front door, I opened it to Kitty cat.

"Hey there Kitty cat? How ya fucking doing?" I asked eating my onigiri. Man do I love these balls of rice, especially the plain ones.

"You are to report for a mission assignment," he said before disappearing. I smiled and wondered how much trouble he would get into if I showed up before him. Then I frowned realizing the Hokage probably wouldn't punish him. I popped the rest of my onigiri into my mouth, I teleported to the backyard. I called Arawn to weapon mode and grabbed my ROOT jacket which was strewn on the floor near Naruto's jacket. He must have taken it off of me this morning.

"Hey I gotta go get a mission. I'll probably leave tomorrow early, so I'll get us some dinner now. You keep working on making multiple clones, then get the kunai. Got it?" I looked to Naruto who had two clones both a little imperfect. He nodded and went back to making clones. Grinning, I teleported directly to the Hokage. I was surprised that he wasn't alone in his office, and had to dodge multiple objects upon arrival.

"Fuck you guys are jumpy," I said after I finally stopped dodging objects. Looking to the Hokage, I saw he had a large smile on his face. I grinned back and made my way to stand on his right, Soubi in tow.

"How ya doin old man? Missed me?" I asked sitting on the open window to his side. I looked to his guests and saw that I recognized one of the three.

"What's up Iruka?" I looked to the instructor and he flinched at me saying his name. Is everyone in this village not used to blunt and insulting? Looking to the other two, I felt their chakra. They were both Jounin in rank, though they were young. One was a woman with red eyes, long wavy hair and a bandaged red dress. The man wore a flak jacket, was smoking and vaguely reminded me of the old man.

"Morrigan, I'm glad you came so quickly. Though it would be more preferable if you used the door instead of whatever it is you do." The old man took out his pipe and I immediately had Soubi take it.

"No smoking when I'm in here old man. It gives me such a fucking migraine you wouldn't imagine," I said to him tossing the pipe out the open window. Looking to the unknown Jounin man, I said "you too buddy. It ain't any different cause I don't know you."

"Cheekily little brat isn't she?" the Jounin remarked. "What are you here for your D-rank or are you here because you want to get hints on the graduation exam?"

"Cheeky bastard ain't he old man?" I remarked sarcastically to the Hokage. He looked a little sad at having his pipe thrown out the window. "Besides, why does he look like you old man? Some bratty relative of yours here for his allowance?"

I looked to the old man to see his eyes widen ever so slightly. He didn't think I would see it. Maybe he wasn't. Quickly smelling the air, I could tell that the old man and this guy smelled extremely similar. The only explanation would be brothers or father and son.

"He's your son." I looked to the man, who still had the cigarette in his mouth. I quickly teleported to him and yanked it out of his mouth. Teleporting back to my window sill, I immediately burned the cigarette to ashes with blue fire. The wind promptly took the remnants away, as I looked to the three Jounin. They had awe on their faces, but also a certain anger for me.

"Morrigan, would you wait outside so I could finish here?" the Hokage asked, trying to coax me into leaving.

"Naw, I don't mind old man. Carry on." I waved my hand dismissively while Soubi took up post as my guard.

"How dare you speak to the Hokage like that, you are only a mere child," the woman screamed at me. How very unladylike, I snickered to the wolves. Soubi growled at her as she stepped forward. I had to admit a wolf almost as tall as you when he sat is very intimidating to adults.

"Oh Soubi stop. You know she would never reach me," I reprimanded aloud. I looked to the Hokage and saw that he sighed.

"Very well, I guess the information would be better through me as mediator, but since you insist. Morrigan, these are Iruka Umino, Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi. They just informed me that a certain kunoichi from our village has escaped." The three looked at me in awe. The old man didn't tell them who the Hunter-nin was, and was going to retell the information to me. I sat at my window and looked at their gaping mouths.

"Close your fucking mouths. Your high-ranking ninja for fuck's sake." I growled out at them. Sometimes this village just seems like a bunch of recluses who've never seen anything. I turned to the Hokage and saw him grinning. "Do you want me to kill or capture? I normally don't capture, but for you old man I'll do it this once."

"Please Hokage-sama, she is only a young girl," said the Kurenai, interrupting the Hokage.

"And we are just high-ranking shinobi, but with that logic we should be killed because we're dangerous. If she is a threat to this village, then it shouldn't matter. It shouldn't matter even if she's a motherfucking princess," I spat at the woman. Now I know where Danzo is coming from. These people were too soft.

"Morrigan," the Hokage reprimanded. I looked to him and put on a small frown. He looked at me and seemed a little angry. Then he turned to Kurenai and said, "You know we can't do that. She is a danger to the village and must be stopped. Yakumo has given us no choice but to eliminate her. As it is you barely escaped her kekkei genkai, and the sealing failed."

"I agree that she is a threat Hokage-sama though don't you think that elimination is harsh in these circumstances," said Asuma quite diplomatically. I looked to Kurenai to see her eyes soften at the man's words.

"_She's in love with him isn't she?"_ I asked Soubi.

"_Yes, you can't smell her hormones, but I can." _

"I don't think so. She is too powerful to be sealed again, and already has shown she is willing to kill anyone. Even her former sensei, and it took two of you to save Kurenai. I am sorry to say, but she must be killed." The old man looked solemn and I turned to see Kurenai frown. There was a long silence where Kurenai looked like she wanted to cry or possibly scream, Asuma looked angry at his father, and Iruka avoided eye contact with me. Iruka must be shitting bricks now that he knows who I am.

"Well," I drawled out, "now that we have all that taken care of, can we get to business? I need a scent patch. No scent patch, I will literally throw someone out of this window." I looked to Iruka and saw a bead of sweat roll down his face. I gave him a psychotic grin and he almost fainted. He is just too good to tease.

"Umino-san, if you would please give it to our Huntress." The Hokage was getting a laugh out of Iruka also. I looked to Iruka, scary smile still on my face, while he shakily pulled out a piece of cloth from his flak pocket. I made no move to get up, and he moved shakily to give me the patch.

"Thanks bub," I said to Iruka as he handed me the patch. He quickly returned to his spot as I inhaled the scent deeply. "When do you want her by?"

"As soon as possible, though I wouldn't want you to be out more than two weeks," the old man said. I nodded in understanding, giving Soubi a long inhale of the patch. "Now for her abilities, she has-"

"Don't need them," I interrupted the Hokage.

"What?" Kurenai yelled. I have had it with her.

"Look lady," I growled out getting off of the window sill and pulling Arawn off my back, "are you the Huntress? No. From what I just heard you couldn't even take her and had to be saved. I can see you are the picture perfect representation of 'Save me Saori'. I don't want her skill set, because it would be a waste of my time. She won't see me coming. I plan on decapitating the little bitch before a sweat so much drops from her brow because of fear. So shut your trap and give the old man some respect."

"B-Bu-Bu-Bu-But," she was searching for words while looking at me like a gaping fish. I turned my back to her and looked to the Hokage.

"Dismiss them," I ordered. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I could tell my yellow eyes turned a little more yellow, the demon inside me showing slightly. He waved them out and their retreating footsteps could be heard.

"Do you need me to leave now? It's only just turned dark and I promised Naruto I would get us dinner. He's practicing making clones and I should really be there to make sure he doesn't overdo it."

"Do you really not need the information?" the Hokage asked looking doubtful. This time I sighed.

"You shouldn't worry about me too much old man. You'll start losing your hair." I smiled at him with a small and sad smile. "Besides, you wouldn't really be at too much of a loss if I was gone. Probably wouldn't even see a piece of the puzzle missing."

"I care about you Morrigan. Believe it or not, I see you as one of my shinobi and wish that you wouldn't get a scratch on you when on a mission. You have become a kunoichi here and I will always worry about you too much." The old man said this so kindly I felt my eyes well up. Quickly pushing them back, I smiled largely at him.

"Thank you old man. That means a lot." There was another moment of silent smiling, before I grinned and held out my hand. "Well you got any money? I'm all out and Naruto's almost through too."

"Since I forgot to give you your stipend as we agreed upon, I'll give it to you now." The old man reached into the right drawer and pulled out a roll of bills. I took it gratefully and stuffed it into my weapons pouch.

"Do you need me to leave now? Or can I leave tonight?" I asked, trying to clear up the mission details.

"I would like you to leave tonight so you aren't see. I know you don't want to know much about the target, but she has extremely strong genjutsu, so be careful." I nodded and smiled one last time.

"See you old man. And remember don't worry too much about me," I said to him before teleporting to Naruto.

"AAAAHHHH, don't do that Morrigan?" Naruto yelled jumping at my entrance.

"Oh stop it. You should be getting used to this," I whined at him. Smelling him, I checked his chakra reserves. They were a little more than an eighth but not yet a quarter. "Make a couple of clones and if you do well, we'll go to that ramen shop."

"You mean it Morrigan," he yelled. He quickly made two clones and they were perfect. I threw two senbon and they both hit the clones dispersing them. They were really good clones, but I was just quicker.

"Okay come on, let's go get some ramen," I told Naruto. Immediately he began jumping up and down. Walking away, I heard him catch up to me, and we ran to Ichiraku's shop. The store was empty except for a lone shinobi with a brown ponytail and flak jacket.

"Hey Iruka-sensei! What you doing here?" Naruto asked. I bopped him on the head.

"He can come here if he wants to. You don't run the shop." Iruka immediately swung around at the sound of my voice, nearly dropping the ramen. I smiled psychotically at him and sat next to him, with Naruto on my other side. The shop keeper immediately placed two bowls of steaming ramen in front of us.

"Thanks, bub," I told the ramen man. "Thanks for the ramen."

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto," I said and my only acknowledgment was the nodding of his head. "Why are you always so loud?"

He glared at me slightly and went back to his ramen. I turned to Iruka to see him staring at his full ramen bowl, avoiding my gaze again. I frowned and started to eat. It was delicious and I was halfway through when I noticed Iruka wasn't eating.

"Ain't you going to eat that Iruka?" I asked him. I was starting to feel bad that I unnerve him so much. He really blew a few in his head.

"I-I-I-I," he stuttered nervously not meeting my gaze. At this point Naruto noticed Iruka freaking out. I frowned, thinking how I could possibly unnerve an adult shinobi so much.

"What's wrong Iruka-sensei? You looked scared to death," Naruto remarked. I looked at the man when the realization hit me. I didn't just make him nervous, I made him scared. I was the monster under his bed. He was scared of me and that made me a monster.

"Naruto I gotta go. I have a mission and need to leave right now." I pushed myself off my stool, dropping it. Soubi who was sitting behind me, moved quickly. I pulled out the wad of bills and stuffed it into Naruto's weapon pouch.

"What are you doing Morrigan? You can't leave right now!" he yelled. Iruka's shoulders slumped slightly, relieved that I was leaving. Sadness washed over me, and gave Naruto a sad smile.

"I do Naruto. It's already ten and I have to go now or lose her." I wouldn't lose her. I just wanted to get away from Iruka. Walking out of the shop and standing on the street, Naruto grabbed my arm. He looked concerned and I know I just looked pathetically sad, probably looked like a wet dog that just got kicked.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. He was loud but sometimes he took on a tone that made me want to tell him everything. I tried to smile reassuringly, but failed.

"I don't want to ruin the meal. I can't help it, it's just what happens when people see a glimpse of the real me." Naruto looked confused and I freed my arm. Ruffling his hair I said, "I'll be back soon. I gave you enough money to eat until I get back. Expect me back in two weeks. Okay?"

"Be safe," he muttered in reply. I took a step back from him and teleported to my room with Soubi.

I was a fool to think that everyone would just accept me. The Hokage accepted me. Naruto and Kakashi accepted me. Danzo accepted me, along with all of ROOT. But there would always be people who saw me as a monster. I was a monster and knew I should expect this. But why then did it hurt so much to think Iruka was scared of me. I clutched my heart and felt like I wanted to cry.

Stopping the pity party I packed a small pack with food, seals, or other things needed for a two week trip. Then I changed into my ANBU uniform, leaving my ROOT coat at home. Packing an extra ANBU uniform, minus the gold armor, into a scroll I put it in the pouch at my back. I went to the bathroom and bandaged my face, taking off my regular mask. I placed my mask on the book shelf and put on ANBU wolf's face. Changing my mind into hunter mode, I thought about my sadness once more.

"He is only one person. Not everyone feels like that," Soubi told me wisely.

"Yah, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

* * *

**Is it bad that I am so tired when I slept in? I don't know. My sister is going to go shopping tomorrow and I don't know if I want to go or not. Probably not. Now for the story, I really like where I'm taking it which is really surprising. I'm normally too wishy-washy. Whatever. So for you guys, remember to follow, fave, review, obsess. Loves yous lots. (I do not own Naruto)**


	15. Just A Bunch of Demons

"**What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine."**

― **Friedrich Nietzsche, **_**The Gay Science: with a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs**_

* * *

In the dark of the night, I left Konoha. This would be the first time leaving the village and willingly coming back. I had sworn to protect this village and because of that, I would return with the head of my target. Smelling the air, I picked up her scent heading west. She was making good time because she started much earlier than me.

"_She is running quite fast for one so young,"_ remarked Soubi as we jumped through the trees.

"_Yah, she has this scent of sickness, but she's still going. Truth be told, I think she's possessed. Her body can't handle this pace, but she is forcing herself to run,"_ I told the boys. Both were in wolf form. Arawn flanked my right, while Soubi flanked my left.

"_She might just like the pain,"_ snickered Arawn.

"_Not everyone can be a masochist Arawn,"_ I told him snickering at his previous remark.

"_Yes, well I think we should get back to business. She seems to be at least five hundred miles to the west judging by how the trail is fading. Considering how she smells at the moment we wouldn't reach her until two weeks, but if she slows down a week would be closer. By the direction and the miles she seems to have gone, assuming she stays straight on this path, she will be in Wind Country by tomorrow mid-morning."_ Soubi was always the one who strategized. Of course I would have known where we were going. He didn't read the maps, lazy bastard.

"_Yah, well we are going to lose the scent slightly when she hits the desert. So I suggest we hurry up. We won't find her in the week if you keep losing the pace,"_ I said, gaining speed.

* * *

We travelled at top speed until we were in Wind Country, not having slept for days. I was pleasantly surprised with the mild climate in River Country. We even stopped and took a break by a beautiful waterfall.

When we arrived in Wind Country three days later, I was bombarded by the desert heat. The heat didn't get better after the four days of trailing the young girl in Wind country. In fact it got so much worse. Let's face it: I fucking hate heat. I was born in a sunless cavern, raised in rainy Oregon, bounty-hunted in the moist Mist and lived in beautifully cool Konoha. I hadn't felt temperatures above a hundred degrees before!

"_If this is what hell feels like, remind me to never take a job there,"_ I said pulling my ANBU sleeves up. At this rate, I'll just wear a black tank with the armor. It was a week having searched for the girl and the four days spent in the desert were atrocious.

"_At least you don't have a fur coat on,"_ remarked Arawn. He was dying also, his fur being black not really helping. Soubi was surprisingly used to it.

"_Why aren't you hot Soubi?"_ I asked stopping to drink some water from a scroll. I poured some in a bowl for the boys and wondered if I should call them back in. But didn't because they were the ones with the scent. I was a good hunter, but I could never compete with their senses.

"_Because I spent some time in Wind Country before I moved to the valley. During that time I was but a pup, and my father was Alpha before me,"_ Soubi said sadly. I always hated asking about his life before me. He would get this sad look in his eyes and then he would refuse to speak. What I did know was minimal. He was alpha of a pack of demon wolves. He in exchange for his captured mate, he helped the Okinawa clan with the coup d' etat. After their services were no longer needed the Okinawas killed his mate and pack in front of him, finishing him off last.

"_Cool, so you know where we're going,"_ I said, trying to lighten the mood. I didn't need Soubi to go into himself right now.

"_She is very close, and it appears she was gathering chakra to perform some type of jutsu," _Soubi replied after a bit. I smelled the trail and could smell her chakra spike. I wondered what she was planning when my vision began to stir. I realized it wasn't my eyes but the air full of sand.

"_What the fuck is that?"_ I asked, the desert in front of meaning turning into a great monster. It looked like the boogeyman from 'Nightmare before Christmas'.

"_It's huge!"_ Arawn exclaimed in awe, going towards it. I pulled him back into weapon mode and felt strange. I couldn't explain the feeling, but it was like I hadn't woken up from my sleep. Soubi quickly went at it and bit its side. He was quickly thrown off but I brought him back inside before he fell.

"_I do not know what that is. I have never encountered one before."_ Shit if Soubi didn't know what it was, how would we kill it? With Soubi in me the strange feeling intensified. It really did feel like I was still dreaming. Shrugging the feeling off, I went at coating Arawn with blue fire. I swiped at it and it dodged. It was too fast to be made of sand! That thing must be a demon or something.

Smelling the air, I realized I didn't smell anything. I tried again to see if the heat had just gotten to me, but there was nothing. Either this thing is purely desert or I've lost my sense of smell. I had paused too long, and a sand arm was coming at me quickly. I dodged rolling to the side rather than teleporting. When I got up, I noticed my leg was bleeding slightly.

"_You dodged that attack,"_ Arawn yelled in my head surprised.

Wait a minute. I couldn't smell anything, not even the trail which I had some sense of before. Then I get hurt, when in all reality I shouldn't be hurt at all. The attack wasn't even near me and the only time I could have gotten cut was when I was jumping. Quickly looking to the floor, I see no reason why I should have a gash. Another sand arm came at me, and I teleported behind it. On my left arm was a slight gash, and I knew now this wasn't real.

"Release!" I yelled and the boogeyman disappeared. That was some strong genjutsu. I looked around and found a young girl a year or two older than me. She had brown hair with one side long and straight while the other in a braid. Her pale skin was sunburned from the desert scorch and her pink kimono was dirty from her travel.

"How could you get out of that genjutsu so easily?" she asked clearly frightened. She expected to kill me with that.

"I have seals all over me and I work heavily with a genjutsu fuinjutsu. Besides I don't really have just one mind," I said in a dull voice, bringing Arawn to my right side. Her genjutsu was superb and I would have fallen for it if I hadn't had Soubi. Because my smell was inhuman, I couldn't be easily tricked. My nose was also my downfall because if she attacked my sense of smell, I wouldn't be able to think.

She started making handsigns and I went at her, but was quickly swallowed up in another genjutsu. This one was purely to buy her time. But this one would be harder to get out of, due to its nature. The genjutsu showed you your home and I was seeing my village. Not Konoha, but the Village of Death. It was so beautiful to see it again, I could feel my tears welling up.

"_You have to dispel the genjutsu,"_ Soubi said calmly.

"_But I don't want to,"_ I replied. I was looking at the village from the window in the living room. Then my parents came up from behind. Turning quickly I saw they were still beautiful, like my birthday had never happened. Warmth flooded my stomach and I touched it with my left hand. Why was my hand wet? I pulled my hand away to see blood. That was when I snapped out of my delirium.

"Release!" I yelled for a second time, pumping chakra into the air. The girl stood in front of me with a kunai embedded in my stomach. I coughed up some blood into her pink kimono and smiled.

"This will teach damn Konoha to come after me," she muttered. I gathered some strength and pulled her arm from my body. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"We aren't ever going to come after you again," I said. Taking Arawn and lining him with blue fire I beheaded the young girl. "Because you are going back with me."

I fell to my knees. The bitch really dug the kunai into me, didn't she? This wound was worse than the one Kakashi had given me, but this time I had more energy. Releasing Arawn, I put a cremation seal on her body and bagged her head. I gave a loud sigh and figured I had to teleport. Before I teleported, I pulled the kunai out and let the gash flow with blood. Quickly I thought of the farthest oasis I had visited. I had enough energy to get to River Country but couldn't risk anyone knowing I was hurt. At the same time I was too weak to actually make it to Konoha and would end up lost. Teleporting to an oasis a little west of the border, I crashed to the ground.

"_You have to bandage yourself and take two pills,"_ Soubi ordered in my mind. I weakly opened up my pack and took out two pills. I swallowed them cupping water to drink from the oasis, pulling my mask off my face. Then I pulled out some gooey ointment and a roll of bandages. Pulling my shirt up, I smeared the bloody wound with the salve and bandaged it messily. I pushed my mask back on my face and laid down.

"_We can't really be outside since you are too weak to power the seal but we'll wake you if anything appears afoot," _Soubi whispered into my mind when I lost consciousness. It felt like only minutes later that Arawn was pushing into my subconscious.

"_Wake up Morrigan. There are three Nin coming this way,"_ he yelled attempting to reach me. I opened my eyes and was met with a full moon. I quickly felt my stomach to feel the wound already healed.

"_Take off the bandages and put your medical equipment away. We don't want them to think we are injured,"_ Soubi ordered. He was ordering me a lot lately. I put my stuff away and pulled out some beef jerky from a scroll. Calling both wolves to my side, I smelled for the intruders. They would be here in almost ten minutes.

"_How long have I been out? It's a full moon and I was at two thirds the day before I found the girl,"_ I asked the wolves.

"_Three days. You were out much longer than you were with Naruto and we were getting worried,"_ Arawn replied stealing a piece of jerky from me. The wolves didn't need to eat, but they liked to. I slipped some jerky behind my mask as I could feel the other Nin approach. Two of them had high Chunin or low Jounin size chakra, but the other had an ungodly amount. It was almost as large as Naruto's or my own, but it somehow felt sinister. Chewing I listened to their conversation from behind the trees, acting like I hadn't sensed them yet.

"There's an ANBU at the oasis. It looks like one from Konohagakure, and a real stupid one since they haven't sensed us yet," said a voice of a young girl. She sounded older than me, but wasn't really that old. I grew a little urked that she said I was stupid.

"Let's just kick them out. There are three of us and only them, so it should be easy." This voice was a cocky boy. He was out of his mind if he thought I was going down that easy.

"We can't do that Kankuro. You know we can't do that. They're technically still allied to us right now," reprimanded the girl voice. I popped another piece of jerky into my mouth and continued listening.

"But—" said the cocky voice, but was interrupted by another male voice.

"I want their blood," said a very scary voice. Silence followed that creepy confession and I was stunned while chewing. I attempted to swallow and began to cough and choke loudly. Who the fuck says something like that? While I was having my attack, the three Nin entered the oasis from behind trees.

Looking at the Nin, I was surprised they were so young. The oldest was a girl two or three years older than me, with four blond pigtails and a large fan. She wore a short light purple dress with armored mesh and her hitai-ate at her neck. The next oldest boy looked two years older than me and wore a black full suit with cat ears. His hitai-ate was at his forehead on his hat-thingy and he wore purple face-paint. The youngest, who had the menacing chakra was a red-headed boy my age with a tattoo on his forehead. He had on a black t-shirt, black pants, a gourd and a white scarf.

"You are some creepy looking fuckers," I said lightly at them. I could feel the menacing chakra of the red-head and could smell the fear from the other two.

"Says the fucking ANBU," said the cocky boy. The girl looked to him and glared. He must be the one the girl referred to as Kankuro. I smiled behind my mask, happy that someone else in this world didn't have a stick up their ass.

"Touche," I replied, going to put my jerky away. I noticed my hands were still bloody along with a bloody torn shirt.

"Why are you covered in blood?" asked the girl, now turning her fearful eyes to me.

"Why aren't you?" I asked looking to the red-head. Blood lust was coming off of him in waves. "Are you going to make the first move bub, or should I?"

The red-head's companions gaped at me. Their fear was evident on their faces. Why were they so afraid of their comrade? Is he like a loose cannon or something? Looking at the red-head, I saw sand come out of the gourd. The two other Nin jumped away, to the other side of the oasis as I got up. Popping my back, I called Arawn in weapon mode and put him across my shoulders.

"You really want to take your time don't you bub? Oh well. Lucky for you I'm fully charged. I won't kill you because the old man won't like that very much, but that doesn't mean I can't play with you for a little while." I cracked my neck, finally getting up after three days. The boy looked at me emotionlessly and I was reminded of Sai.

Then the battle began. Sand which had been gathering flew towards me, sharp as a spike. I teleported quickly to the side and frowned as the sand followed me. I felt the boy release more sand and had to teleport to the other side of the oasis. The sand continued to follow me.

"_He's a long-range fighter, though I suspect we won't be able to do damage up close. If we get caught in the sand we'll be through,"_ Soubi said, at my side. I didn't want to worry about Soubi so I brought him in and struck Arawn in the ground. I would leave him here as I got close, being faster without the large scythe. Going through handsigns, I dodged the sand coming at me.

"Blue Fire Release: Hand Blade." My hand grew an extended blade of blue fire and I ran at the red-head. Sand was coming at me from different directions, but I dodged it not just being fast because of teleportation. A couple of feet away from the boy, I swung my arm at him. A wall of sand protected him, but the fire went through it. When the sand came back at me in retaliation I saw that the fire had hit the boy's cheek. Jumping a few feet away, I watched as sand fell off from the boy's face.

"You really want a good fight," I muttered to him. The sand quickly came above me like a tidal wave and I looked at it in awe. The wave came crashing down on me and the sand quickly wrapped around me. I substituted quickly for a rock in the oasis and teleported behind the red-head's companions. They looked on in horror as the red-head closed his hand and the rock was crushed. I sighed, and thought how I wouldn't get out of this without an injury. His two companions spun around and I smiled at them.

I teleported back to where Arawn was and pulled him out of the ground. I charged at the boy bringing blue fire to the surface of my body. If I'm lucky the fire will allow me to go through his sand. A large wall of sand tried to stop me before I got too close to the boy. Plowing right through the wall, I went to swing Arawn. As the blade was about to hit the boy's sand shield he gave an attack.

"Sand bullet," he said, quietly. A lump of sand came at me quickly and hit my right shoulder. Arawn's swing being disrupted, I teleported behind the Nin and kicked his back. My hold on Arawn was gone and I realized the boy dislocated my shoulder. Taking hold of my weapon in my left hand I attempted to swing at the boy, only to be thwarted by sand. I jumped a few feet away as I watched the sand swirl around the boy. He became encased in a sphere of sand and I looked to his comrades. Their faces told me that whatever he was doing wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.

"_Okay Soubi, game-plan." _

"_Your right shoulder is dislocated which makes using Arawn near impossible. I don't like what that sphere means, but we should take some time to assess the situation. He is a long-range fighter who has a perfect defense. We have to teleport around him, if we plan on getting a hit. Being faster than the sand is key. So put Arawn away, get your senbon, and pop your shoulder back in."_

"_Okay,"_ I replied. I brought Arawn in, while taking deep breaths. With my left arm I pushed my shoulder back into the socket. I let a whine escape my throat and took another deep breath. Pulling out some senbon, I coated them in blue fire. Quickly I tested the strength of the ball and I was surprised when one senbon went through. Figuring I could charge the ball, I ran at it with senbon in my left hand. Upon coating my leg in blue fire, I kicked the ball with my right leg. But what happened wasn't what I expected.

When I hit the ball, and an arm of sand came out and grabbed my leg. The arm was going to crush my leg, but I quickly teleported away. The arm went back into the ball through a small hole.

"What are you?" I asked the Sand Nin aloud. The two others were leaking fear but didn't make a move to leave.

"_He is a demon of some sort. I do not know for sure, but the chakra is that of a demon,"_ Soubi told me, a hint of fear in his voice. We have never gone up against a demon, and I was starting to think I should retreat. But I couldn't let him lose it and kill his comrades. They were our allies at this time.

"_Do you think one of my seals will contain him?"_ I asked Soubi. I had a seal which I could use if my demon broke the seals at my hands. It was no guarantee it would work, but anything would help at this time.

"_Yes, but we have to get in the ball and the demon seems to rest there," _Soubi observed as I gathered more blue fire. I coated the fire thicker than any other time and ran at the ball. Taking the seal out, the arm came at me. Quickly calling Arawn and coating him, I chopped the arm off. Plowing the base of Arawn into the hole, I jumped feet first into the sand ball.

Fuck, it's dark in here. My eyes quickly adjusted and the blue fire on my body gave some light. As I really looked, I noticed I was in the boy's lap. He was clutching his head, and was talking erratically. He strangely looked scared, but not at me. He noticed me, and I slammed the seal on his head. I was going to escape, but before me teleported sand coated my right arm and I heard two snaps.

Immediately I got out of there and clutched my right arm. Not only was it dislocated, but now it's broken. Pumping chakra into the seal, I activated it. The ball of sand immediately dissipated and I gave a sigh of relief. The young boy fell face first into the ground and a large gash could be seen on his forehead. I released Soubi and Arawn into wolf form and looked to the other Sand Nin. They looked surprised but somehow happy.

"Get your buddy, and leave. We won't speak of this to either of our superiors," I ordered the Sand Nin. "I don't know what he has inside of him, but I'm pretty sure he's a demon. You tell your village to get him under control. If we meet again, you are not to acknowledge that you know me. And if you should ever enter my village and let him do that, I will not hesitate to decapitate you and send you back to your village on a silver platter. Do you understand me?"

Both Nin nodded their heads. I turned and ran towards my village. Checking my chakra reserves, I learned I could teleport directly to the village. Picturing the old man's office, I stopped myself. Maybe I should wait until morning. I ran for a couple of hours, before the sun had risen. Looking at the sky, I figured it was around eight o'clock an decided it was time to teleport. Teleporting into the Hokage's office with both wolves, I had to dodge multiple sharp objects.

"Why do you guys always do that?" I ask, clutching my broken arm. It hung limply at my side and had been throbbing since I left the other Nin. Looking to see who was in the office, I was pleasantly surprised it was Kakashi. I nodded to him and turned to the Hokage. "Dismiss him."

"Kakashi we'll continue this later. Would you please wait outside," the old man told Kakashi. He had a slight smirk and I figured he was happy that I was back half a week earlier. "Huntress, how was your mission?"

"It was," I started and waited until Kakashi left, "I ran into a couple of Sand Nin."

"Really," he said, smoking the damn pipe I had thrown out to the window. Just because I had told the Sand Nin not to tell their supervisors, I had to tell the old man. Keeping secrets from him wasn't an option if I wanted to protect this village. The old man examined me slightly and kept his gaze on my limp arm.

"Yes," I said. Reaching into my pack, I pulled out the head of the young girl and presented it to the Hokage before re-sealing it. "She didn't really give me too much trouble. Her genjutsu was a bitch, but I only came out with one wound. The arm happened because of one of the Sand Nin. The boy was about my age, red-head, kanji tattoo on his forehead, and gourd on his back. But his chakra was different and I suspect he had a demon sealed within him. The demon was threatening to be release, but I sealed him back in. I let him and his comrades go on their way."

"I see," the old man said after he took in all this information. "You did very well Huntress. I am proud of you. Now you should go and get that arm fixed at the hospital. And I would like you to know about Naruto and your Genin team." I perked up at Naruto's name and removed my mask. The Hokage raised his eyebrow at me, but I knew I couldn't hear about Naruto while still being Huntress. I had to be Morrigan to hear this.

"What happened to him? He had his test this week? Did he pass?" I asked rapid fire. The Hokage laughed at my concern.

"He passed this morning, and I think you will be happy to hear that you're on the same team. Of course only for training, since you won't go on missions with them," he told me. Then he sobered up and looked to me with a stern expression. "But I think you should have a talk with him. He recently learned some information and you should know what that is."

"Okay," I said a little excited to be on his team, but confused to what the information was. I nodded to the Hokage and put my mask back, leaving the sealed head on his desk. I exited the room to find Kakashi leaning against the wall. I nodded to him and teleported to the front of the hospital. Going in, I was shuffled in by a nurse. She led me to an empty wing for ANBU and started to heal my arm. They fully healed it and I thanked them. I teleported to the living room and could smell Naruto in his room.

"Naruto! I'm home," I yelled, taking off my mask, revealing my bandaged face. The wolves went around the house and sat in an extra bedroom. Naruto came barreling into the living room, slipping on one of the rugs.

"Morrigan, are you ok? How was your mission? I passed and now I'm a real shinobi!" he yelled back at me. I smiled at him and went to ruffle his hair. Noticing his headband on his forehead, I made my hand into a fist and tapped the metal.

"I'm so proud of you. The mission was okay, but I want to go take a shower and we'll talk about it when I get out." I quickly teleported to my room and grabbed my black muscle top, red long skirt, black leggings, and my ROOT jacket. Going to the shower I cleaned up the blood from my hands and body. I took off my bandages and washed my hair quickly. Dressing, I walked to my room with my hand on my face, and went to get my half mask. Going to Naruto, I sat on the loveseat across from him on the couch.

"So you want to tell me about how the test went?" I asked, before noticing the somber face. He looked serious and a little scared. I quickly straightened up and smiled reassuringly at him. "It's okay Naruto, you can tell me."

"Morrigan, are you scared of me?" he asked quietly.

"Not this again. Naruto I told you I could never be afraid of you. You are my best friend here. Hell you live with me! If anything, you should be afraid of me," I told him a little more hostile than I meant.

"You should be scared of me. You should hate me like everyone else in the village," he yelled at me. Looking to him, I was confused.

"Just like everyone should hate me. I'm a monster and I've killed more people than I can remember. You should not be with me," I yelled back at him.

"You don't understand."

"Then tell me!" We were both out of breath, and stared at each other. I could feel Sai outside, waiting for me and concerned about the yelling.

"Because I have the nine tails demon sealed inside me," he whispered sadly to me. He looked like he was about to cry. I looked stunned at him and stared at the young boy. No wonder I felt such a kinship to him. We were both monsters, and monsters have to stick together. Then I did something that surprised even the wolves with me. I started to laugh.

"You think that would bother me?" I asked him, still laughing. He nodded, tears running down his face. "Never. That will never bother me Naruto. So what if you have a demon inside you, you are not the demon. He is just inside you and yes you have the capability of becoming him, but I know you. You're too loud and innocent. You're too kind to harm anyone, but you're strong enough to protect those you love. You are not your demon."

"Really?" he asked, tears still falling. I got up and crossed the room to him. I pulled him and gave him a hug. He obviously hadn't been hugged for a long time, but neither had I. Squeezing back, I closed my eyes relishing in the moment of physical contact.

"Of course. Just promise me, you won't ever be afraid of me. Don't ever look at me with fear, because I will never hurt you. I will protect you from everything and anything," I told him. He nodded his head, my shoulder wet with tears.

So Naruto had a demon just like me. Then there was that Sand Nin. He also had a demon, and I felt like I needed to help him next. Damn, how many demons were in this world?

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**Hey everybody. This chapter was a real hard chapter to write. I don't know if it's because I really don't like fight scenes or I'm really excited for the next chapter. Whatever it is, oh well. Remember to follow, fave, review, obsess. Next chapter in a couple of days, so see you guys. Loves yous guys, bye.**


	16. One Dysfunctional Team

"**Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much"**

― **Helen Keller**

"**I don't look at her like she's a bad girl. She just misunderstood sometime, she's a little troubled, she's a little dysfunctional. She's a survivor."**

**-Aida Turturro**

* * *

"Okay," I said to Naruto, "let me get this straight, you failed the test?"

"Uhuh," he replied embarrassed.

"And then not only did you break into the old man's office, you also stole a very important scroll from him."

"Yep."

"And from that scroll you learned a high level ninjutsu, Shadow clones, and beat up your teacher."

"Former teacher."

"Yes, former teacher. And you were with Iruka, who managed to save you, up until I just came home?"

"Yes."

"My question is," I lowered my voice dangerously, "how the fuck did you fail?"

"Well, ummm, you see," Naruto rubbed the back of his head. I glared at him murderously.

"I trained you for what three days straight and you go and blow it! How the fuck did you do that?" I yelled.

"I told Sasuke I could make more clones than him. So he made six and I tried to make ten. But I didn't actually make them right, so Iruka failed me," he said while pouting. He really does have a beef with that Sasuke kid.

"Well, I guess what's done is done. I can't brood over this anymore. By the way are we getting our teams tomorrow?" I asked rubbing my temples. Sai was still outside, the familiar smell of ink.

"Yah, but how-" he started.

"Hold on a sec Naruto. One of my friends is here. He is socially awkward so be nice. Okay?" I told him as I went to the door. Naruto followed me and was surprised to see an empty space.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked.

"Sai get your ass out of the tree and come and sit inside. We'll probably go eat later, so you can come," I yelled out into the trees. For a good five seconds Naruto suspected I was crazy. That was until my emotionless friend appeared in front of us with a whoosh of leaves.

"AAAAHHHH," Naruto screamed jumping five feet back. "Why do you guys all do that?"

"Why don't you just get used to it already?" I retorted. "Hey Sai, how's it going?"

Sai looked down into a book. I peeked at the title and saw it read 'Making Friends for Dummies'. He was probably looking for the answer to my very strange question. I smiled at him, noticing for the first time how tall he was. I was always short, but Naruto was short for his age too. With Naruto I didn't feel like a hobbit. With Sai, he was already five feet tall. I was lucky if I grew an inch from my pathetic four and a half.

"It means, 'how has your day been?'. Most people will answer and then ask the person who just asked them the same question. It is a social nicety," I told Sai. He looked down at me and I smiled reassuringly.

"My day has been normal. How has your day been?" he asked, still a little unsure of social protocol.

"Good. I just got back from my mission and Naruto and I are going to go get lunch. You wanna come?" I asked him. I kept the reassuring smile on my face. Sai broke out into a very large fake smile.

"Come where?" he asked. At least he knew what lunch was.

"Probably ramen," I said then decided to add, "Sai, you don't have to smile like that. It seems, umm, forced. Others will read the smile as deceiving. Instead try to slightly tilt your lips upwards."

"I will try," he replied. His smile got a little smaller and still gave off forced. But it was an improvement. I turned to Naruto to see him staring at Sai with a suspicious look. I raised my eyebrow in silent question.

"You haven't spent a lot of time around people, have you?" Naruto asked bluntly. I could feel Sai tense at the new question. I glared at Naruto. I had warned him my friend was a little socially impaired.

"No," Sai answered honestly.

"Naruto be nice," I chided. "Do you have any money left? I gave you a lot."

"Yes," he replied, a little embarrassed at being scolded. I swear I'm like a mother to these two boys. They were both so helpless when it came to people. One knew no emotions and the other knew nothing but emotions.

"Good, let's go then. Guys do you want to stay here or leave?" I asked. Sai and Naruto looked at me curiously as the wolves came out of their room.

"_No I want to sleep_," Arawn yawned.

"_As do I,"_ Soubi replied, always proper.

"Okay." I grabbed both Sai and Naruto and teleported to the ramen shop. They were bent over and coughing away. Naruto glared at me, while Sai attempted to smile through his pain. I laughed at both of them and entered the shop.

"We'll take three regulars please," I told the young woman. She nodded and quickly placed three pork miso ramens in front of me. I pushed one to Sai, who sat on my right and pushed on to Naruto, who sat on my left.

"Thanks for the meal," I chanted while the boys said their respective prayers. We ate in a companionable silence. Sai seemed to like the ramen, which made me relieved. What a bad experience would it be to eat your first meal with non-ROOT circumstances and it be terrible. Naruto of course ate almost seven ramens before calling it quit.

"Well, Naruto, you get the tab," I called out to him. Walking onto the street with Sai, I looked at the sun. It was only around noon and I planned on training. "Sai, would you like to train with me and Blondie?"

"Blondie?" Sai asked a little confused. I always forget he doesn't understand the slightest social nuance.

"Nickname. It is a name based on a person's characteristics that you give to someone you're close to. It is meant as an endearment. I call Naruto different nicknames: Blondie, idiot, or kid." I watched as Sai opened his little book and wrote notes in them. He was really taking this whole 'fit into society thing' seriously.

"Do I have a nickname?" he asked. I looked at him and realized that if I said no he would be hurt. But truthfully I didn't have a nickname for him yet.

"I don't have a nickname for you yet, but that's only because we've just met. Naruto has known me longer and I've trained him. But don't worry, I'll give you a nickname in no time," I told him beginning to walk down the street towards the training grounds by the house. Naruto and Sai soon caught up to me and we spent the day training.

I learned why Sai always smelled like ink. He used some powerful ink techniques. He could make tigers and lions and other murderous animals. He was also very skilled with kenjutsu, his tanto being tip-less like Danzo's. Of course I could match him every move and was faster because of teleportation. It was a good experience to train with him. It was actually necessary if we were going to go out on missions for ROOT.

We trained into the night, when Naruto told me we had to be at the academy tomorrow at eight. I told everyone we should go home. I teleported Naruto and I home while Sai went to wherever he lives. The wolves were still asleep and I made us onigiri for tomorrow. I fell asleep around three and woke up at seven. I showered and put on my regular outfit of black leggings, black muscle shirt, red long skirt and ROOT jacket. Putting my hitai-ate on my left arm, I put the lunches in a bag. Making Naruto get ready after I was dressed and showered, we teleported to the Academy. Naruto was getting used to teleporting but he was still hunched over in the empty classroom.

"Come on," I said, smacking his back. I had Arawn in weapon form at my back. Soubi was next to Naruto in wolf form. I walked to the back of the class and took a seat next to the window. Naruto followed me after he got over the attack as sat down.

"Does anyone know that you passed?" I asked him. He shook his head and I sighed. Kids started to fill the classroom and it was crowded in ten minutes. Some of them came up to Naruto, but Soubi growled at them. Goes to say, Naruto was very quiet today as were all the others. I was daydreaming when I heard some girls fighting over sitting next to some guy. I looked over and sighed at them. Were they really that shallow? Iruka entered shortly after that and I put my feet on the table. Not making eye contact with the instructor, I turned to look outside. It was another ten minutes until our teams were actually called.

"Team Seven is Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka announced. Naruto bounced up and down slightly when he heard the girl's name. He must have a thing for her. But the excitement was quickly overshadowed when he heard that the Sasuke kid was on his team. Iruka went through all the other teams before Naruto opened his mouth.

"Hey Iruka-sensei why—" Naruto started to yell from the back of the room. I quickly turned my leg, bringing it behind him and slammed him down on the desk.

"Sorry for the interruption. Please carry on," I told Iruka. The older man looked like he just saw me and gaped. Other students were staring and I put on a large smile on my face. Soubi in turn glared at everyone and they quickly turned back around.

"Morrigan," Naruto whined. His face was being crushed into the desk and I sighed.

"Can it, kid. You don't need to make a fool out of yourself right now, got it?" I whispered dangerously. I felt someone's eyes on me as I released Naruto. Gazing around the room I saw it was Sasuke. He smirked at Naruto's punishment. I looked at him and gave him a death glare. He stiffened but glared back. After a while he turned and we heard Iruka tell us it was lunch.

"Naruto, don't get yourself into any trouble. I have to go talk to Iruka for a bit. Your lunch is in the bag here. Take yours and let Soubi bring the rest to me," I said patting a paper bag in front of me. The kids were filing out and I watched Iruka leave. Hurrying after him, I found him entering a teacher's lounge. I went in after him and cleared my throat.

"Morrigan, wh-what are you doing here?" he asked really nervous.

"I wanted to know if you got the confirmation on my team," I replied giving a nervous smile. The fact that he was still afraid of me hurt me. I looked down at my feet waiting for a reply.

"Yes, you are on team seven with Naruto," he replied still a little nervous. There was a long silence before I decided to say something.

"I'm sorry," I told him quietly. I looked up to see his surprised face. Knowing mine showed fear, I turned my face to my feet again. Fear of being rejected.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For making you nervous and afraid. Sometimes, I get out of hand," I said in a small child-like voice. "I was upset that Naruto was being hurt. It's not your fault and I was wrong to threaten you. If you're scared because I'm the Huntress, I'm sorry. It's the only thing I know how to do. The Hokage would have made me do something else, and I don't know anything else. So I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm a monster."

"Morrigan look at me," Iruka ordered in a stern voice. For a moment I thought he would strike me, and I hesitated. But after there was no blow I looked up. His face was that of sadness and regret. I could feel my eyes were wet and realized I was crying. Quickly rubbing my face, I wiped the tears away.

"I'm sorry," I muttered once again. Looking to Iruka, I saw he had tears in his eyes.

"No, I should be sorry," he said in a sad voice. "I didn't see everything from your side. You are very powerful for a child and it's disarming to be threatened. When I learned you were the Huntress, I was terrified. For you to kill people and still smile, it made me think you would go through with your threat and really kill me. But now I realize that my actions have hurt you and I am sorry."

"But, I'm a monster. You should fear me," I told him softly.

"No. you are not a monster. You are a child and a fellow shinobi of this village. You shouldn't feel like you are a monster. Don't ever say you're a monster." Iruka wiped the tears from his eyes and put on a stern look. My sadness and hurt dissipated and I smiled at him. He smiled widely back.

"Can I eat in here? Naruto left and I don't know where he is," I asked getting some of my spunk back.

"Just this once. Do you have any food?" Iruka asked sitting on a couch. Soubi came up to me with the extra bentos and I nodded.

"Do you want one?" I asked Iruka, opening up the bag. There was an extra lunch for Naruto, but I didn't have to tell him about it.

"Yes please," Iruka replied. I handed him the extra lunch and sat on the opposite end of the couch. Soubi laid on the rug at my feet. We ate in comfortable silence, Iruka still trying to get used to me. Lunch was almost over when I left Iruka. He smiled at me when I left and I felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.

"_Maybe this village isn't so bad,"_ I told Soubi and Arawn. Making a right at the hall, I found Naruto. He was fighting with that Sasuke kid and just made a bunch of shadow clones.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked teleporting to Sasuke's side. Sasuke began to charge at the Narutos. I quickly threw senbon at all the Narutos and they disappeared except for one. The real Naruto fell to the ground with a senbon at his leg. I didn't throw that hard, so the senbon was only a fourth in. Turning to Sasuke, I teleported above him and kicked him down into the ground. The force was hard enough that he coughed up some blood.

"Morrigan, what the hell?" Naruto yelled, pulling the senbon out. Sasuke attempted to get up, but I kneeled down to placed Arawn's base next to his face.

"I do not tolerate fighting indoors on my team. You have a problem take it outside. I don't want to be the one to repair everything or pay tons of fucking money to people because you guys have too much testosterone. You fucking understand?" I asked both boys. They nodded and I got up, placing Arawn back on my back. "Come on, class is about to start."

Walking back towards class, the boys followed me. I knew they were making faces at each other and at me, but Soubi settled them down. When we got back to class, Iruka said that our instructors would take us now. We waited for our instructor, but he wasn't there. He was so late, and I had a hunch who he might be.

"He's late," said Sakura. She was a long pink-haired girl with green eyes. Her hitai-ate was like a hairband and she wore a pink dress and shorts underneath. She had seemed quite depressed and I wondered what they had done during the lunch.

"Where is he? All the other teams got to meet their sensei. Why does ours have to be the one's who's late?" Naruto yelled. I sighed and sat on the table next to the one Sasuke was sitting at. Sasuke was sitting there hands folded to his nose, like he was in deep meditation.

"Don't think too hard, bub. You might get wrinkles in that porcelain skin of yours," I laughed at Sasuke. Naruto was attempting to place an eraser in the door. He wanted to prank Kakashi? Well it just might work. He seems a little spacey sometimes.

"Shut up, girl. Don't talk to Sasuke like that!" Sakura yelled at me. She didn't know my name, not having asked politely. I yawned and pet Soubi who sat on the chair next to me.

"I can talk to whoever I want, however I want, Pinkie."

"Don't call me that!" she yelled at me. Meanwhile Naruto was grinning at his prank.

"He won't fall for that, Naruto. He's an élite shinobi," Sasuke remarked haughtily. I rolled my eyes at his high and mighty behavior.

"Yah, Naruto. Sasuke's right, he won't fall for that," Sakura chimed in. She just goes along with anything Sasuke says doesn't she? A moment later the door opened and revealed Kakashi who got hit by the eraser. Naruto started cracking up, while Sakura started apologizing.

"Hm. Well, my first impression of all of you," Kakashi started and I could tell by the tone wasn't very nice, "is that you're all idiots."

"What?" Naruto whined.

"What's up Kakashi? How's it fucking going?" I asked cheekily. He merely turned one exposed eye to me and smiled.

"It's been better. Have you seen the team I was assigned?" he asked jokingly. I laughed and decided to carry on with the joke.

"Yah, you're pretty much screwed. The girl only listens to the brunette and from the looks of it hates the blond," I said nonchalantly. I waved my hand around and continued, "in addition to that the brunette and blond have some rivalry thing going and hate each other."

"Hey, Morrigan," Naruto screamed at me. I laughed at Sasuke's face. He was surprised I knew Kakashi and was catching flies. I swung my legs off the desk and bounded to Kakashi's side.

"Can we continue this on the roof? It's really stuffy in here," I asked politely. Might as well show some respect to my half-sensei.

"Yes. Okay, everyone to the roof," Kakashi said disappearing. I disappeared right after, teleporting to the roof. I took a seat and took out an extra onigiri. They would be a while. When they finally arrived, I finished my onigiri and Kakashi showed up sitting on the railing. I got up and sat on the floor next to him, my back on the railing. Soubi sat next to me and I let Arawn out in wolf form. Arawn took up the place on my other side.

"Okay," Kakashi started, the kids straightening up a bit. "I guess we'll start with introductions."

"Excellent choice Kakashi. Oooohhhh, we should do things we like, hate, dreams and hobbies. Why don't you start Kakashi," I remarked. Sakura glared at me, while Naruto looked eager and Sasuke looked bored.

"Okay. My name is Kakashi Hatake. There are things I like and I hate, but I don't feel like telling you that. As for my dreams, I haven't really thought about that. Then I have a lot of hobbies." That was really informational. Not. "Okay on the right you go."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen, and Ichiraku ramen shop is the best. I don't like the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen to cook. My hobbies are comparing the different types of ramen. My dream is to be the best Hokage ever! Believe it! And to have all the villagers acknowledge me!" Man all it is, is ramen and Hokage with Naruto. Plus he's so loud.

"Alright you on the left," Kakashi said to Sakura.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like, I mean the person I like is," she said staring at Sasuke, "my hobbies are," she looked at Sasuke again, "and my dream is," she squealed looking at Sasuke. Man does she love Sasuke, she probably doesn't even know him.

"And you hate?" I prompted.

"Naruto," she screamed. I sighed at her outburst. Kakashi really has a lot on his hands.

"Okay, now you," Kakashi said to Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate many things and don't particularly like anything. I don't have a dream because it is going to become a reality. I will restore my clan and kill a certain someone," Sasuke said in an ominous voice. A creepy silence followed, but was broken by me giving a long whistle.

"Man is your team dysfunctional Kakashi," I told him, giving sympathetic eyes.

"Wait, who are you?" Sakura screamed. She is like a loud Naruto. I rubbed my temples and looked at Kakashi. He gave me a nod and I looked back at the kids.

"My name is Morrigan, no last name, no honorifics. I like many things such as swearing, onigiri, tattoos, whiskey, and my wolves. I hate many more things, like fangirls, people with one-track minds, people who are cruel, people who think of only themselves, people in general, being forced to stay in one place for too long, etc. I have a couple of dreams, most of which are private, so you won't hear about them. My hobbies are training, harassing people, and going on missions as an ANBU.

"Wait, you're an ANBU?" Sakura yelled.

"Yah, why?" I asked her calmly.

"Then why are you here?" asked Sasuke just as calmly as me.

"Ask the old man. He said it was to," I put my hands in the air for quotation marks, "'strengthen my relationship with people'."

"Are you going on missions with us?" Sasuke asked. Sakura was too busy fuming that I was stronger than her.

"Naw, just training," I said. Turning to Kakashi I asked, "Are we done here?"

"Yes. We have our first mission tomorrow, so you don't have to come." I brought Soubi in and turned Arawn into scythe form. I gently placed the six-foot scythe at its constant holster at my back.

"Great. Well I'm going to head to a place I found before I left. Naruto there's food in the fridge. Don't wait up." I waved at all of them, teleporting to the red-light district. It was already dark and I was searching for my bar. I entered and the bartender smiled at me. Guess he's just happy because I tipped him a little extra last time.

"The usual kid?" he asked.

"Yah. But this time cook the pork a little more. Thanks," I said. He laid a whiskey on the rocks in front of me, and went to make my food. The bar was empty like usual, and I looked around. There were some drunks in a booth near the back, and a couple at the other end of the bar.

"Here you do kid," the bartender said, placing my meal in front of me.

"Thanks for the meal," I chanted and started eating. I finished the whiskey halfway through the meal, and the bartender put another in front of me. I smiled and took the drink. This is a really nice place. It's cozy and empty, but they serve good food. Plus no one wants to hear my life story. Finishing the meal and drink, I ordered another. Sitting at the bar, developing a slight buzz, I smelled the air.

"_Someone's coming here,"_ I told the boys. I didn't like how fast they were coming and how their direction ran right into me. I also didn't like the fact that it was Kitty cat.

"Hey," the bartender yelled at Kitty cat. Kitty cat was right next to me with a hand on my shoulder. "We don't want any trouble round here."

"It's okay. He's a friend," I reassured the bartender. He looked suspicious, but let it go. "What do you want Kitty cat? I'm nursing a nice little buzz here."

"The Hokage has a mission for you," he said disappearing. I hate when they do that. First Kitty cat doesn't even say hello and leaves quickly. Then the Hokage calls me at the worst of times. Actually Danzo also calls me at the worst of times. I'm just called when I am too mellow and relaxed.

"Well, I gotta go," I told the bartender. I downed the rest of my drink and paid with some money I had given Naruto. I was not a pick-pocket, but was pretty good with sleight of hand stuff.

Teleporting to the Hokage's office, I let Soubi out. The Hokage was alone, and was again smoking that damn pipe. I scowled and looked at the old man. He frowned slightly but stopped smoking. I gave him a large grin.

"You're learning old man. Whoever said old dogs can't learn new tricks was utterly wrong," I joked. The old man smiled back at me.

"I'm glad you came so quickly. I have a mission for you," he said, crossing his hands and looking a little stern.

"Who do you need me to kill, old man?" I said, getting as close to professional as I could. I straightened my back and stood a little taller.

"I don't need you as the Huntress," he replied.

"What?" I asked.

"This mission, you need not be the Huntress. I need you to find someone and bring them back."

"Old man, I already told you-"

"I know and I'm sorry. You are the only capable tracker Nin, who's not on another assignment. Because you don't have an ANBU team, I don't have to disband a squad to get another tracker to do this. Besides you wouldn't want to be on a team working missions would you?" he asked, smirking. I pouted slightly. I didn't want to have to work with other people. At least with this I would be alone.

"Okay," I pouted.

"Great," the old man laughed.

"Who is this good for nothing asshole? A missing Nin? A Nin from another country? Don't tell me it's a civilian."

"No it is a Konoha shinobi. He's been gone for some time and I fear we will need his services."

"What do you need him for?" I asked.

"Well it seems the boy you gave me a description of, is attending the Chunins we are hosting in 6 month's time. Now I'm not against having him compete, but because he attacked you I'm not so sure. There has also been rumors from our outside source that Orochimaru has been too quiet. He seems to be coming up with some scheme. I believe it would be better to have a second opinion here." I looked at the old man and wondered.

"Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't it be confidential?" I asked the old man.

"I trust you," he told me surprised. I looked at him with a raised brow. Whatever. Now I know why Danzo wanted to be Hokage. Sometimes people are way too trusting.

"Okay," I let out. "Who's this Orochimaru guy you're talking about?"

"He was my student but he defected some time ago," the old man said. There was some sadness to his tone. It nearly broke my heart.

"Will I have to hunt him down after? I could just solve our little problem of worrying," I offered. If I took care of the Missing Nin, maybe some repercussions could be handled.

"No, that is quite alright," he said sternly. My eyes opened ever so slightly in realization. The old man didn't want to kill his student. That's going to be his downfall. As Hokage he has the greater responsibility to the people of Konoha, not that of a sensei to a bratty student. I really hope sparing him doesn't come to bite him in the ass.

"Alright, old man," I said, "Who am going to get?"

"My old student. Jiraiya."

* * *

**New chappie. Starting school next week. So maybe some different updating schedule. Loves yous guys. (I do not own Naruto)  
**


	17. Bad Students and Treaties

**"I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game." **  
** ― Toni Morrison**

* * *

"Have all your students up and left?" I asked jokingly. The old man's face was that of slight sadness and I realized that it was the truth. All his students left. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Another reason why I have you going is because Jiraiya was heading into Kirigakure. While there, I would like to send you to meet with the Mizukage. Of course for that meeting you will need two escorts. Jiraiya will have to accompany you, and I'll send another person with you right now." The old man pet his beard in concentration.

"So you want me to go see batty Mei? What the fuck for?" I asked him.

"We should strengthen our relationship with Mist. They have been trying to reform their village. In addition to that, because you had a relationship with them beforehand it will be easier to make treaty negotiations."

"Oh, so you're using me to get Mei to do what you want her to do?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Now for the issue of a bodyguard. I want Sai," I told the old man. I didn't like the idea of trusting someone I just met. I knew Sai was capable and I trusted him. I don't like working with other people but I had to have two people with me when I see Mei. I might as well take Sai. Besides, Danzo knowing what went on during my trip would make him happy.

"Sai?" the old man asked, eyes widening a little.

"Yes. He's my friend and I trust him with my life. In addition he is highly capable of protecting me, though I don't need to be protected." I didn't need to protected and have a bodyguard. But this was one of those diplomatic necessities.

"Yes. And I would like to leave tomorrow after I inform my team. They have something going on tomorrow, though with Kakashi I don't think it would be early. He's always fucking late isn't he?" I asked the old man thinking.

"Yes, he is," the old man chuckled lightly. "Very well, I will allow Sai to go with you. Here are the papers for the treaty with Mei. This is also Jiraiya's skills, a letter for him and a scent patch. The patch is a little old, so the smell might be hard to track."

"Doesn't matter if it's old. Unless he became someone else totally, I can still track." I took the items from the Hokage and put them in a scroll in my weapons pouch. From my pouch I took out one of the rings Akane had given me. Last week I made it into a reverse summon fuinjutsu. Because I could teleport, I made the seal to call on my life force. It was meant as an emergency contact. I held it out to the old man.

"What is this Morrigan?" he asked opening his hand. I dropped the ring into it and smiled a small smile.

"Should you ever be in trouble, just pump some chakra into the ring. I'll come immediately," I looked at his face and it broke out into a large grin. He was happy that I trusted him so much. I grinned back and waved. Teleporting home, I noticed it was almost midnight. The last of my buzz was gone and I sighed.

I sat under the weeping willow looking at the clouds in the sky. Tomorrow I would have to find Sai and tell him we were leaving. Naruto wouldn't be too happy about me having a mission so quickly. I was supposed to train with his team. Maybe I should give Naruto a summon ring. I had three total and two left. No, I don't think Naruto would use it well. Besides he might pump too much chakra in it. That Sasuke kid looks like he would rather die than admit he needed help, so he was out. Kakashi seemed like he would think he could handle it, so no. Maybe Sakura would be fine. She did hate me, but looked like she would call even if the boys said no.

Sakura it is then. I pulled out one of the rings and formed some handsigns. Biting my thumb after, I smeared the blood on the golden ring. It was more girly than the others and looked like a rose. Suddenly the rose on the ring took on a black color and I knew the sealing was done. The Hokage got a silver band with the seal's pattern on it. It was probably big enough to fit on his pinky. I put the ring back into my pocket and decided to go inside.

Checking Naruto, I was surprised to hear him in such a deep slumber. I hope his mission goes well tomorrow. He suddenly flailed like he was having a bad nightmare. I entered the room fully, having been only in the doorway, and shook him.

"It's only a dream," I said motherly while shaking him. He opened his eyes to slits. When he saw it was me the fear left him. I ruffled his hair and he went back to sleep. Poor thing. Must be a dream about that teacher who attacked him.

I left the room and went to my own. I have to pack for at least a month. I went and packed a bunch of muscle shirts, all black, into a sealing scroll. Taking the scroll I also packed some red and purple skirts and a bunch of leggings. Figuring I could use my purple cape, I sealed that also. Then came the random stuff: converse, socks, a band tee, some sweats, underwear, and a hat. Then taking a new scroll I packed a lot of medical and camping equipment. I went into the kitchen and packed two scrolls full of food and water. Going back to my room, I packed all the scrolls into a black messenger bag.

Soubi, who had been outside, came in and went to sleep on the bed. For a wolf, he slept a lot. I let Arawn out in wolf mode, and he joined Soubi on the bed. I sighed and went to my bookcase. On one of the shelves, I took the two other rings I had. I put them on and found a scroll. This one had a lock and I fingered it lovingly.

"_You haven't played in a long time," _Arawn said, not yet asleep. I released the lock and took my violin out.

"_I know. I'm going out,"_ I told him. Taking my violin, I ran out of the house. My fingers had been itching to play. Maybe I'll take my violin with me on the trip. I ran to the empty training ground, and stood in the middle breathing hard.

Putting the violin to my shoulder, I took a deep breath. I took a few testing notes. It was pretty tuned for sitting so long. Maybe it was because it was sealed. Then beneath the moonlight I started to play. First I started with the classics. Bach's Chaconne ringing into the air. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Then I played Paganini's first Caprice. This one was much harder for me, but the short piece electrified the air. After that I turned to more modern pieces. I played Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. Humming along to the piece, I finished and prepared for the last song. Lastly I played Dream on by Aerosmith. They were one of the bands Antonio had taken me to seen and I was engrossed with the song. I played each song a couple of times more on repeat. The sun was rising when my hand finally cramped and I stopped.

"Th-that wa-was be-bea-tiful," a little voice stuttered. I was jolted, having lost all sense in my music. Turning around I saw a girl my age with white eyes and black hair. She was dressed in an oversized beige sweater and blue shinobi pants. She was very shy and looked down.

"Thank you. I hadn't played in a long time and got a little carried away," I said embarrassed. I scratched the back of my head, still holding my bow. "I'm Morrigan, by the way."

"Hi-Hinata Hyuuga," she replied. Hyuuga were the people with the white eyes. "I lo-love you-r mask."

"Thanks," I said, subconsciously touching my mask. I smile, picturing what I would look like to her. I wore the red cape, black mask, and had white hair. I wouldn't doubt if she thought I was a spirit.

"Ar-are you a shi-shi-shinobi?" she asked. I looked at her eyes, meeting them for the first time. I smiled reassuringly. She was just too cute with her stuttering.

"Yah," I replied and then cried out, "Shit. I'm late. I'm so sorry Hinata, but I have to go. I have a mission and I have to do some things. I'll talk to you when I get back. I'm late!"

I ran off before Hinata could reply. I quickly jumped through the forest, taking a shortcut to the house. When I got to the house, Naruto was already leaving.

"Naruto where are you meeting your team?" I asked him frantically.

"Training ground three. Where have you been?" he asked. I lifted my violin and he gave it a dry look. Not one for the arts is he?

"I'll be there in a bit. Have you eaten breakfast?" I asked trying to get into the house. I figured I would just teleport in, because I don't have my keys.

"No-"

"Good. I'll bring you all breakfast later." I teleported inside, leaving Naruto who went to the training ground. I took a shower and dressed in clean clothes. It was the exact same outfit except for the hitai-ate on the left side not the right. Then I made a bunch of onigiri with some leftover rice. Naruto only knows how to make rice and ramen. And the rice was because I explained how to make it. Packing the lunch in a bag and grabbing my satchel, I smelled the air for Sai. He was in the tunnels and I figured I would pop in on Danzo. Calling the wolves in, I put my satchel on. Teleporting to Danzo, I had to dodge multiple objects upon arrival.

"Why does that always happen?" I asked no one in particular. Danzo was tense and there was another ROOT agent watching him. "I need to speak to Danzo alone."

"You may leave," Danzo said after the agent's slight hesitation. "What do you need Morrigan? I was in the middle of something."

"I need Sai. The Hokage requested I go on a mission to Mist. I have to go find some dude named Jiraiya, then talk to batty Mei. Sai is going as my 'bodyguard'" I told him, quotations and all. He looked a little surprised.

"You are talking about a legendary Sannin and the Mizukage?" he asked a little unsure.

"Yah. There is a treaty I'm supposed to negotiate or something. Though I suspect Jiraiya will do all the talking. I'm just there to be the muscle." I looked at his surprise for a little while. "I know. He trusts me too much sometimes. Though I won't break his trust, his confidence in me is fucking astounding. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. Seeing as I'm taking one of your best, and your successor is leaving indefinitely."

"I hope you return safely," he said kindly with a paternal smile. Fuck, was he easy on me. Then his face got stern and he said, "I expect a full report when you return."

"Sai can give it to you," I told him. "Where is the fucker? I know he's in the tunnels, but I also know I'll get lost."

"I will have him summoned immediately. Where do you want him to meet you?" he asked, calling the agent back in.

"Training ground three. Thanks Danzo." I quickly teleported to the main square. Where is training ground three? What time is it even? I looked to the sky and saw it was only nine. Going around I looked for training ground three. Thirty minutes later I found it and saw the three kids waiting.

"Hey kids. Who wants breakfast?" I asked. Sitting down next to Sakura, I pulled out some onigiri.

"Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat breakfast," she said, looking down at the onigiri. I pulled one out and waved it in front of her.

"Okay. This is not breakfast. It's a snack then. He never said anything about snacks." I plopped the rice ball into her hand. "Besides, you need to be ready for a mission. You can't have an empty stomach on a mission."

Naruto came and got his. I gave him an extra. Looking to Sasuke, I raised one brow. He seemed torn. Torn between listening to his Sensei to at tee, and breaking the rules. I waved the ball of rice in front of his face. Finally, his will power faltered. He took the onigiri without as much as a thank you.

"Why are you packed Morrigan?" Naruto asked after a while.

"I have to go on a long mission. You guys won't see me for a while, so I figured I would tell you kids," I said sadly. I was sad that I wouldn't get to train with them. Thinking back to the bonds that the Hokage spoke of, I realized I was beginning to yearn for them.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked. He was being quite talkative today.

"Mist," I replied, taking the last onigiri.

"Whaaa?" Naruto screamed with his mouth full. I guess he's never been out of the village. Then again, being the jinchuriki for this village I wouldn't let him go either.

"Yah," I replied. Smelling the air, I knew Sai was hiding in the trees. Scaring the kids, I yelled to the trees, "Sai, come down here and fucking socialize."

"Yes, Morrigan-sama," he replied.

"I don't like honorifics," I told Sai. Motioning for him to sit down, I gave him part of my onigiri. I should have saved him some.

"What is this?" Sai asked, looking at the rice in his hand.

"Breakfast. I took the last one, so you can have part of mine."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Sakura asked cheekily. She was trying to piss me off. I wasn't going to fall for it.

"No. He's a friend of mine. Sai is going on the mission with me," I told her calmly. I looked to Sai and found him eating his onigiri looking at Sakura.

"What's a boyfriend?" he asked. The others sweat dropped and I looked at him with a friendly smile.

"It's a name for the lover of a girl. But the boy must not just be a lover, he must have a mutually relationship with her. Something like husband and wife without the marriage," I explained. Why would I be embarrassed to tell him? Sai looked at me with a scrunched face.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked. Naruto seemed angry that he was asking me such personal questions. Sasuke and Sakura looked curious. I really could care less. Sai didn't understand and it was a fair question.

"No. Nor do I want one," I replied lightly. Finishing my rice ball, I smelled the air for Kakashi. He was going to be here any second.

"Well, I see you guys are eating," said Kakashi as he teleported near our group. His team froze in place, having been caught red-handed. I smiled and got up.

"Kakashi, that was my fault. I told them that they should eat before a mission. Besides you said breakfast, not a snack," I told him. Kakashi nodded his head in understanding.

"Why are you packed?" he asked.

"I am going on a mission and I thought I should tell you guys. I'll be gone for about a month. I have to go pick up someone named Jiraiya."

"Really?" Kakashi said, mildly surprised.

"Yah. So you guys should be fine without me for a month." I looked to Sakura and said, "Oh, that reminds me. I need to give you something."

"Me?" she asked surprised. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the black rose ring. I pulled her to the side, away from the boys. They all looked curiously at me, but I smiled reassuringly at them.

"Should you ever need me," I whispered to her, dropping the ring into her hand. "You only need to pump chakra into the ring itself. It's a reverse summoning, and I'll be there within seconds. I don't want my little team getting hurt."

"You," she started. I patted her shoulder reassuringly. She was the right choice to have the ring too. She would do me proud. Going back to the boys, I stood on my tiptoes to knock their forehead protectors. Naruto was first, and I made the now familiar fist bump on the metal. Kakashi, I had come down a bit to my level, to touch the crooked metal. Sasuke looked like he didn't want me to touch him, but with a glare, I fist bumped the metal. For a second Sasuke looked stunned at the action, but recovered quickly.

"So I guess you guys will see us in a month. If anything happens, remember to fucking call," I told them with hands on my hips. I wanted to look intimidating, but somehow it came across as a doting mother. I nodded and grabbed Sai so we could leave. Sai, didn't budge and I looked at him. He had a confused look on his face.

"Do you want to say goodbye?" I whispered quietly.

"Yes," he replied after some time. I released my grip on his arm and he turned to the others. "What do I tell them?"

"You tell them, 'until we meet again'," I whispered back to him. Sai looked at the four faces, and the four faces looked curiously back at him.

"Until we meet again," Sai said, bowing slightly. I smiled at his effort and grabbed his arm. We teleported to the main gate. Sai of course was bent over in slight pain, but got over it in record time.

"Let's go. We have a long way to get to Mist," I told him running from the village.

"I agree," he said. Letting the wolves out, Sai and I left the village in search of a man named Jiraiya and a meeting with the Mizukage.

It was about two weeks later that we were wandering around Mist. Of course it would have been faster if we just teleported, but that would have taken too much energy. Besides, I don't know if I wanted Sai and everyone else to know I can teleport anywhere. That would be way too inconvenient. Imagine what the Hokage would make me do. He would probably just have me teleport between villages willy-fucking-nilly. No thank you.

We were in a small village a day's journey from Mist. I could smell that Jiraiya here and we were currently tracking him. Earlier that day, before we entered the village, I made us get rid of our hitai-ates. I also changed my root cloak for my purple one. I didn't want people over here to know I was affiliated with Leaf. I even went as far as keeping Arawn in weapon mode with Soubi in wolf form. That's what they would expect from the Shinigami's wolf huntress.

"He's in the red-light district. From the smell of it not alone either," I told Sai. Fucker was with some hooker. Oh well, we might as well wait for him to finish.

"Would you want to get him now?" Sai asked. It had taken him the entire two weeks to not think of me as a princess. Goes to say, being successor to ROOT made me some kind of royalty. As such, Sai was careful with what he said. But after two weeks of convincing, he was finally casual with me.

"Naw, I want a drink." Turning into one of the bars near our target, I saw it was empty.

"Ah, if it isn't the bounty hunter," said the bartender smugly. He was cleaning glasses. I had come to this bar a lot before I was stuck in Konoha.

"Can it, bub. I want the usual. And remember what happened when you tried to poison me last time," I said haughtily. He tried to poison me, only to get poisoned himself. It wasn't pretty

"Coming right up. What do you want for your friend?" he asked. I looked to Sai and realized he probably hasn't drank before. I glared at the bartender and shook my head. He nodded, a little scared, and place my whiskey down.

"Why do you drink, Morrigan?" Sai asked me, as we sat down.

"Because it tastes good," I replied. I really didn't know the reason why I drank. I suppose it was to numb me a little. Killing people, affects the human subconscious, and I killed a lot of people. Sai turned to watch the bartender. He had something on his mind and I could tell.

"What's wrong Sai?"

"Why did you glare at the man when he asked if I wanted a drink?"

"Because I figured you never drank before, and it would incapacitate you."

"Am I your friend?" he asked softly. That was it. He thought because the man called him a friend and I reacted badly, he wasn't my friend. Or that I didn't think of him that way.

"You are my friend. A weird friend, but a friend no less." There was a content silence as I downed two more drinks. I could still smell that Jiraiya with a hooker. Shouldn't his hour be up? It's already been an hour and a half.

"Sai, we're going to get this asshole," I said getting up. I laid some money on the table and left the bar. Sai followed me out and we went into a sleazy inn. Smelling the air, I lost the scent. Soubi quickly picked it up. There was just too many smells in here for me to handle. Soubi led us to a room in the back, and I knocked. No one answered the door. I pounded and could hear voices from the other side.

"Maybe we should tell him who we are. He is still a Nin from Konoha," Sai suggested. I kicked down the door a moment later. In front of me, under the sheets was an old man and an ugly hooker. I picked up the hooker's clothes and tossed them at her.

"You're done. Fucking get out." She looked at me, not the least bit surprised and got dressed. I looked to the old man, who was clearly pissed. The girl left with a smile. She must do business with a lot of shinobi.

"Who are you?" Jiraiya asked. He had long white hair, and a forehead protector with the kanji for oil. He sat up, the sheet only covering his lower half. I put on a mean face and grabbed his clothes, throwing them at him.

"Your wake up call. How long can you go, old man? We were waiting for almost two fucking hours," I said angrily.

"I can go a lot longer, girlie," he said, in what he probably assumed was a seducing tone. I rolled my eyes and tossed him the letter the Hokage gave me. It was addressed to him, and told him what he needed to know. Jiraiya read the letter quickly, but didn't get dressed. For the first time I was glad Sai was emotionless. It would have been really bad if Naruto came. He would be yelling at the old pervert for hitting on me and being indecent.

"Please get dressed. I read that it is improper for a man to be naked in front of a woman who is not his wife," Sai said, taking on his angry tone. I spoke too soon.

"I'll get over it Sai, but you are correct. Remember, that even though these are new to you, these social niceties are what makes the world go round." I pointed my finger at him. He was really such a good learner. He tried so hard to be normal. Jiraiya got dressed, taking his time to my displeasure.

"Hurry up you old pervert, I have to go see batty Mei tomorrow. I would preferably not use my energy and teleport us there."

"Mei?" Jiraiya asked putting the last of his clothes on. "Do you mean the Mizukage?"

"Yes. I have to talk to her about a treaty and you are supposed to escort me." I walked out of the room with Soubi. We would have to leave now if I wanted to see her tomorrow morning. Teleporting out onto the street, I waited for the boys. When they arrived, we ran non-stop to Mist village. Jiraiya and Sai didn't complain or even talk for that matter and we didn't get lost. So it was a great day.

When we arrived at Mist, I went straight for Mei's office. Of course, I had to show my papers to many shinobi. They of course let me, regardless of what the papers said, I was a bounty hunter here in Water country and they couldn't keep me out of the village if they wanted to. When we entered Mei's office, the real one I might add, I was slightly sweaty but not really tired.

"Ah, if it isn't my little bounty hunter. Finally returned I see? It's been a long time," Mei said behind her desk. She was laughing slightly, but tensed ever so slightly when she saw Jiraiya and Sai. Patchy also tensed and I gave them both a large smile.

"Yah, well, why the fuck would you have me hunt down such a weak Nin? He was hard to catch, but easy to kill," I said amused. From one of my extra scrolls, I took out the Nin's head. He looked pristine, even though I had killed him for her months before.

"Ah, so you did get him," Mei smiled largely. It was a predatory smile, and one that I returned with a psychotic grin.

"Of course-"

"What do you think you're doing?" Jiraiya interrupted. I turned around and glared at him murderously. I'm buttering up Mei, what you think fucker.

"Excuse me, but the only reason why you are accompanying me and not a Nin of my choice is because you were convenient. If I had my choice I would have had Kitty cat. Now if you are to do a good job at this, I expect you to shut the fuck up." Jiraiya's eyes turned to me angrily. I merely gave him a sigh and turned back to Mei.

"Excuse him, I'm still trying to get him trained," I said sweetly. Mei was happy with my words and smiled at me. Patchy tensed when I came to her desk when she beckoned.

"Darling, what are you doing with a Legendary Sannin from Konohagakure?" she asked me, smile still on her face.

"Doing some work for them. Had to find the fucker and now I have to talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yah. Konoha would like to make a peace treaty with you, and I think it's in your best interests to hear me out. Let's face it, Mist hasn't been the same since the third. You here are trying to improve it, but what happens if Iwagakure gets fed up with you. I mean, you're barely rebuilding. You wouldn't survive it. And I know Konoha and you have had a rocky past, you sealing the three tails in one of our Nin and all. But when you really look at it now. Konoha could help you. If not, my opinion would just be to take you," I whispered dangerously to the Mizukage. This route of negotiating is dangerous. If Mei feels too threatened, she'll kill me in my sleep. But if she doesn't she wouldn't listen to me at all. It was all about balance.

"I will discuss negotiations with you this week," Mei said, giving me a slight glare through her smile. She liked me too much not to hear me out. Besides everything that I said was true and she knew it. "You can stay in the tower, along with your two bodyguards."

"I expect separate rooms. One is a pervert and the other I'm trying to teach how to be a gentleman," I told her backing up and giving her a large grin. A shinobi came into the room to escort us out, but we were stopped halfway to the door by Mei's voice.

"Oh, I do not know your name darling. You always just called yourself the Shinigami wolf's huntress," Mei asked curiously. Jiraiya looked at me with new eyes. He didn't think I was that dangerous, but now he saw the light.

"Morrigan. You can call me Morrigan with no honorifics," I told Mei with my psychotic grin. Then I promptly left the room. Fuck, do I need a shower.

* * *

**You guys know the gist. Follow, Fave, Review, Obsess. (I do not own Naruto)**


	18. Dreams Discovered and Some Other Stuff

"**Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."**

― **H. Jackson Brown Jr., **_**P.S. I Love You**_

"**All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."**

― **Edgar Allan Poe**

* * *

"When were you going to tell me that you were the Shinigami's wolf huntress?" Jiraiya asked when we were alone in our room. I raised my one visible eyebrow.

"Why would I tell you that? We barely met. I mean it's not something you tell on a first date." He was crazy if he thought I would make him privy to my business. I didn't even tell Sai and Danzo who I was. Though I am pretty sure that Danzo already knew I was the Shinigami's wolf huntress.

"Do you know that the Akatsuki are looking for you? They want you to be a member. Though I'm pretty sure everyone just thinks you're a myth," Jiraiya said anxiously. Akatsuki? Is that the criminal organization over in Ame?

"Why does every evil organization want me to be a member? I mean for fuck's sake I have a life!" I yelled at the sky or roof in this case. Sai looked at me with what I have labeled his curious look. It was really a slight raising of his eyebrows and the widening of eyes.

"They've contacted you already?" Jiraiya asked, now suspicious. I don't like him. He seems too wise and smart for me to fool. Not that I'm fooling anyone right now.

"No, but smaller bounty hunter guilds have. People always want the twelve year old killer on their apocalypse team." I went and checked the rooms. We had a common area with a small kitchen and seating area, then two bedrooms. Entering one, I found two twin beds. Entering the next, I found one large king sized bed.

"You're twelve?" Jiraiya squealed.

"I call this room. You two can take that one," I pointed to the room with two beds. "And yes I'm twelve. How old did you think I was?"

"I thought sixteen or seventeen, with the way you acted," Jiraiya replied with his hands in his face.

"And you were still hitting on me?" I asked, surprised. Well at least this guy wasn't a pedophile. I let Arawn out in wolf form and Jiraiya jumped. I laughed and said, "Calm down you pervert. It's just my wolf. I like them in pairs."

"Morrigan, how many meetings with Mei are you going to have?" Sai asked, breaking the tense air.

"If I know Mei, and I do, we'll probably be here for two weeks. She doesn't take anything fast, and she likes to keep me for comical relief," I replied. Going to the room, I said, "And right now I'm going to sleep after my shower."

* * *

The negotiations did take two weeks, just like I said. Each time I met with her, Jiraiya or Sai did accompany me. Truth be told, I think Patchy, or Ao as he told me to call him, liked having another bodyguard in the room. It was probably because they reigned me in when I got a little too aggressive. Mei and I were just having a real good time.

Konoha got everything that they wanted in the treaty. Most of it was the normal peace negotiations. Mist had to come to our help if we were in trouble. Or if we were to go to war, Mist had to follow. Then they had to support us for various missions by putting up some of their Nin. The Hokage even put in a clause that I was head of all Hunter Nin in Mist. So Konoha came out with a steal.

Mei had wanted a lot from Konoha, and that is where I had the most trouble. Mist had agreed with us helping them out and providing support with their reformations. But they wanted us to go to war with them. Let's face it, Mist wasn't good to get into any war. We couldn't follow them, because that meant certain death. Mei, conceded in the end. But I helped her by making a clause that said we would think about it.

What really helped was my negotiations with the medical Nin. Mist needed to learn better medical ninjutsu, and I offered the support of Konoha. We would send a handful of medical Nin to teach Mist. In exchange for our medical Nin, Mist would send us some Jounin instructors to teach at the academy. Now I know what the old man would say: why? The answer is that it would help prepare our shinobi for different situations. Not everyone is just going to stay on wall duty. Some shinobi needed to learn to be more knowledgeable of different nations. We need them to be ready for mission in different countries. Also, it would be good for the soft kids to get some harder teachers.

My month was up and we were saying goodbye to Mei. Mei of course was very sad to see me go. I don't think she got to hang around with girls very much. It was good to actually talk about her love life and dreams. Of course we didn't talk about my love life which is non-existent. We never really talked about me. I wasn't really girly. That is if girly was tattoos, whiskey, and killing people, than yah I was girly.

"See you Mei. Now remember, take some chances. I know some of them will pan out like you want them," I whispered in Mei's ear when I hugged her. She had a slight frown on her face.

"I should have made you mine when I had the chance," she said when she released me.

"You never would have. You never even let me see your real office until now," I laughed at her. She smiled lightly.

"I suppose not," she returned. I looked to Jiraiya and Sai, who were waiting patiently. Tapping Mei's arm, I left her with a smile. She was a good woman. Truly wanted to help her village and was open to other's suggestions.

"You bubs ready?" I asked them. They nodded and we exited the tower. When we got out of the village I stopped.

"What's wrong Morrigan?" Sai asked, looking back.

"Do we really want to walk?" I asked. Sai looked at me, expectantly. He knew I meant teleportation, but Jiraiya was completely puzzled.

"How else would we get to Konoha?" Jiraiya asked with a tone that said I was stupid. I rolled my eyes and took Arawn off my back. I tapped him on the ground and the gaping hole opened.

"This way. Now come here and hold onto me. Don't let go, because I don't know how I would find you later," I ordered them. Sai came to me in a moment, while Jiraiya hung back. "This is easier than my other teleportation technique. Though I have never had someone travel that was so old. Maybe we shouldn't."

"_I don't think this is wise. He doesn't seem strong enough,"_ Soubi advised from inside me.

"_Don't be like that. He's a legendary Sannin. He can handle it,"_ Arawn argued.

"No we'll do it. I'm not that old," Jiraiya said, scowling. This time I hesitated. Maybe Jiraiya won't be able to handle teleportation. I've never had anyone other than Sai or Naruto do it. Naruto was no problem having too much chakra and being so free with his life energy and Sai could do it because he worked a lot with is emotions. This old man had a lot of chakra and a good hold on his emotions, but maybe his life energy is too little.

"Okay," I finally said, "but if you get hurt, we're never doing this again."

Jiraiya came up to me and both boys grabbed my shoulders. Commanding the hole to become bigger, we were swallowed up. Not wanting to take too long, I quickly pictured the Hokage's office. He was there with Kakashi and my team. I smiled as I saw their faces were all frowns. Tapping Arawn once again, we popped into the space. As usual we dodged multiple sharp objects.

"Hey, is that anyway to greet your team mate?" I asked jokingly. Naruto immediately rushed to me and barreled into me. I fell to the floor with Naruto hugging me awkwardly.

"Blondie. How've you fucking been? Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" I asked trying to get him off of me. I didn't like the physical contact. In a second, Sai lifted Naruto up by his coat and helped me up.

"NO," he screamed. "All we've gotten are stupid D-ranked missions. We just came back from getting a stupid cat."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I told him looking at everyone. I smiled at everyone, but my smile faded when I saw Jiraiya go down. Quickly catching him, I looked at his face. It was drained of all energy and his breathing was shallow. "Fuck, I knew that was too good to be true."

"What's wrong with him?" the old man asked from his desk. He made a move to get up, but I waved him off.

I needed space. Quickly bringing my life energy to the surface, I pulled it to my hand. My hand became like light, and I started feeding some energy into Jiraiya's body. The room was tense but I could feel Jiraiya holding on. I fed Jiraiya at least half of my leftover energy. It was making me a little faint, but I could handle it. Stopping before I would pass out, I looked to Jiraiya.

"He isn't able to teleport with me. I should have known he couldn't take it, but I shouldn't have tried. This has never happened before," I told the old man. Jiraiya's breathing leveled off and his face gained some life. I sighed and said, "Jiraiya will be fine. I gave him some energy and he'll rest for a bit."

"I'll take him," Kakashi said to me. I gave Jiraiya's limp body to him and looked at everyone. The kids, excluding Sai looked a little scared. Sai looked worried, while the Hokage looked relieved. I hung my head in sadness. I should have trusted my gut and never tried to transport him. It was too much of a risk.

"Here's the report," I said, getting up and taking the scroll of paperwork. I moved to the Hokage's desk, and stumbled. Sai quickly caught me. I was dizzy and my vision was blurry. My hold on Arawn slipped, and the scythe disappeared from the floor.

"I used too much energy," I muttered. I tried to stand upright, but my legs kept buckling. Sai got tired of me struggling and picked me up. He held me in his arms, bridal style. I tried to fight him, but to no avail. I was just too weak. Sai turned me towards the Hokage, the others not seeing my face.

"Morrigan. You have to stop," Sai whispered in my ear. I could only imagine how that looked. Now I would have to explain to everyone that nothing happened on the trip. They would probably think Sai and I got together during the mission.

"I'm sorry old man. I shouldn't have teleported Jiraiya. I just wanted to get back and be with my team. I wasn't looking at the consequences of my actions," I said quietly. I could feel tears stream down the open side of my face. "I'm so sorry. It'll never happen again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Morrigan, there is no reason to apologize. You had no idea that this would happen. It isn't your fault and I'm not mad at you," the Hokage said fatherly. The tears flowed harder. The realization that I could have killed Jiraiya set in. Jiraiya was a pervert, but he was somewhat like a friend. We joked and lived together for those two weeks. He protected me and gave me advice with the treaty. Hell he even tried to help Sai with his 'becoming normal' trainings. To say he was a stranger, was very far from the truth.

"I'll come back later," I told the Hokage. I didn't want the others to see me cry. They probably didn't even know I was crying. With the some of the last of my energy, Sai and I teleported to my bedroom.

"What do I do?" Sai asked, unsure of what to do. Right now, he thought it was improper for him to be in my bedroom since we were not in a relationship.

"Bed," I croaked. Sai gently switched hands, and held me in one arm. He tossed the covers open and laid me down in bed. I could feel the tears coating my face and attempted to wipe them off. Sai beat me to it, wiping them off with his thumb. I could feel my eyes flutter with the close contact. It was a nice feeling. Sai then reached for my mask.

"No," I ordered in an unnaturally firm voice. I never got strict with him. Sai was a soft spot for me and I always treated him like a kid. Never really raising my voice or scolding him. Sai looked at me curiously, but continued reaching for the mask. I tried to bat his hand away, but it was too late. I was too weak and too slow.

"What happened?" he asked. Seeing my full face for the first time. I turned my face away, only for him to put a finger under my chin and turn it back. The thumb of the hand went out and stroked my scar. I nearly started to cry again.

"I'll tell you another time," I told him. "Put my mask back on now please."

"No. I'll put it on when I leave," he insisted. When did he get so bold? He always listened to what I told him to do. Maybe like a child, he was at the defiant stage. His thumb continued to stroke my scar as he sat down in the desk chair he brought from the other side of the room. I glared at him murderously.

"Please Sai," I begged in a soft voice. The glare was still on my face, but my eyes showed fear and sadness. He looked at me, and pulled his thumb away. He replaced my mask and looked at me with a confused look. "We'll talk about this later."

And with those last words, I lost all my strength.

* * *

It had taken me a week to wake up from teleporting Jiraiya. When I woke up, I immediately went in search of him. I found him at the Hokage's office, discussing something about the evil Akatsuki. I apologized fiercely and every time, Jiraiya said it wasn't my fault. Still I learned the lesson of teleporting people who weren't Naruto or Sai. I vowed never to teleport anyone else ever again.

After that, I trained with my team. Sai was sent on a three month mission by Danzo and wasn't available. So training with my team took first priority. When I asked them if they were scared of me, they all replied with a cheerful no. I was happy that they weren't afraid of me and went on being my normal self.

We trained for the three months, and I learned a lot about my team. For starters, the day when our team was assigned a lot happened. Turns out Naruto henged into Sasuke to get Sakura to kiss him. They did, and when I asked each of them in private, they said it was terrible. So Naruto got over his obsession with Sakura and Sakura got over her obsession with Sasuke. Of course Sasuke knew that Naruto henged into him, and that's why they fought. But he didn't know Naruto and Sakura kissed. Poor Sasuke couldn't get over how Sakura didn't worship the ground he walked on anymore.

I think that actually made it better for both Sakura and Sasuke's relationship. Sakura is getting to know the real Sasuke and Sasuke appreciates the new Sakura. I know somewhere deep inside, Sakura still loves Sasuke. To tell you the truth, I know Sasuke is secretly in love with Sakura. But now that she isn't fawning over him, he actually has to make an effort to be social.

Talking about being social, Sasuke started talking to me. When I asked him about his dream, he told me he had to kill his older brother. I learned that his older brother killed his whole clan and I felt strangely connected to him. I had to avenge my family's death also, but I wasn't hell-bent on it. Slowly but surely I convinced him that he had to have something more in life than just that revenge. He had to have a dream larger than just himself. His current long-term dream now, is to become head of ANBU and make sure the screenings of Nin's mental state is up to standards.

Sasuke because he still continued with his goal of revenge, trained with Kakashi on his days off. He was really serious about killing his brother and I even told him when he was ready I would go with him. His brother probably would be hard to track and I offered to track him. Sasuke surprisingly said yes, though after many debates over tea in his compound. When I visited the ghost-town, I was appalled with the conditions. So much so, that I forced Sasuke to move in with Naruto and me. It was actually better for him, not being surrounded by the memories of his clan's demise. It also got his mind off of revenge.

Sakura not surprisingly also got bigger goals than just Sasuke. She has been training with me to become stronger and build her chakra reserves. When she saw me 'save' Jiraiya, she made it her dream to become a great medical Nin. I was all for it, since I got hurt a lot. She normally patches me up now, and she's gotten quite good at it. Sakura has also become one of my best friends. She sleeps over a lot and I help her see that Sasuke isn't that bad of a guy. She also tries to get me to open up. This doesn't really work. No one will know my fears or dreams or even what I really am. Naruto, is the only one who could ever begin to understand what I am.

Speaking of Naruto, he's gotten a lot better. About a month ago, he tried to convince me to continue to train him, but I said 'fuck no'. So instead he went to bother Jiraiya. After some convincing and some intervention on my part, Jiraiya finally agreed to train him. He's trying to get some summoning work done, but hasn't had much luck. His overall skills in ninjutsu have gotten stronger. He's learned a move called, 'Rasengan'. Of course this was to beat Sasuke who learned Chidori. I really could give a fuck less, because I haven't learned a new ninjutsu in years.

Overall the kids' teamwork has improved greatly. Of course Sasuke and Naruto still have their rivalry, but since living together they got a little less hostile. Sakura also started to have a brain of her own and learned she didn't really hate Naruto that much and that Sasuke could be wrong. They can now go on missions without full-blown fighting. Of course they still bicker constantly but when it gets down to business, they're ready. In my opinion they are very strong team. Kakashi has actually been discussing with me about letting them compete in the Chunin exams. I said, that if there are other rookie teams competing to go for it.

Another rookie I really got to know was Hinata. Now Hinata is a sweet girl, but I've been trying to get her to be a little bad. She has that awful stutter, but surprisingly when she swears it disappears. Now the idea of a Hyuuga heiress swearing is mind-blowing, but I have really turned her personality in these last months. Though she often reverts when she sees Naruto. She has such a bad crush on him, it's amazing. But overall she has become more confident, and I often spar with her to help her with her taijutsu. Though her taijutsu doesn't really need any improving. Damn Byakugan hurts like a son of a bitch, luckily Sakura has gotten used to releasing my chakra points.

Currently I'm working a little more heavily with Danzo. He's let me sit in on many of his assigning meetings, and I even make assignments for some ROOT agents. I learned that many of the ROOT agents weren't brought up in the tunnels. Most of them are ANBU we've screened and let in. They started out as people who questioned the Hokage's motives, then they become ROOT. But most of our best are like the old Sai. Though I suspect when Sai gets back he may have reverted. Danzo hasn't told me why Sai left on that three month mission, but he tells me to ask Sai when he gets back.

Danzo, I realized, doesn't actually hide a lot of things from me. He says I remind him of how he wanted to be. In truth Danzo is a real coward, and he wanted to sacrifice himself in the second shinobi war. Danzo is also one merciless bastard. He is willing to kill Konoha Nin if it meant protecting the village. I am all for killing betrayers, but I did save quite a few shinobi who were just really bad at their job. I was the person who kept Danzo in line and I make ROOT actually protect the village within the law. That was surprising to Danzo who was like the Darkness who wanted to eat everything and anything.

Danzo often refers to me as his own blood or on very rare situations his child. It is of course to my displeasure. He is one fucked up dude, making ROOT do things which should have never been done. I know that his arm had a bunch of sharigan eyes, but every time I ask him how he got them he brushed me off. I would have to do my own digging, but I was more concerned with keeping ROOT from doing fucked up missions.

So I have a lot on my plate. I am simultaneously trying to help both Hinata and Sakura with training; feeding Naruto and Sasuke like a doting mother, since both of them were orphans; waiting for Sai to get home, so I could ask him why he left me and then beat the crap out of him; making sure both perverts, Kakashi and Jiraiya, train the boys to the best of their abilities; complete my Hunter Nin duties every now and then; and lastly keep ROOT from going ape-shit crazy. Fuck, sometimes I just wish I was regular.

* * *

I was dressed in an oversize Plain White T's shirt and leggings with my black half mask on. It was my off day, and the boys were going to get their mission assignment. So I figured I would make some lunch for them when they got home. Reading 'Pride and Prejudice', I sat on the kitchen counter waiting for my cookies to be done. The boy's sandwiches were in the fridge, and I was making their favorite double chocolate chip cookies.

Suddenly the door opened and the wolves, who had been laying on the couch jumped. Looking at Naruto who entered first, I saw a large grin. Sasuke who entered after him, was also smiling. I grinned at their happiness as the timer rang. Coating my hand with blue fire, I took the cookies out and set them on the stove.

"What are you guys so happy about?" I asked them. I took their sandwiches out from fridge, still not putting my book down.

"We finally got a C-rank mission! Believe it!" Naruto yelled. I put my finger to my lips in a calm down motion and he was silenced, though he continued to jump up and down.

"Sit down so you guys can eat. When are you leaving?" I asked placing the sandwiches on the table. Sasuke looked at the cookies on the stove longingly but I shooed him away.

"We're leaving in an hour," Naruto said, beginning to stuff his face with the sandwich. Sasuke began eating with a very fast pace and I sighed at their antics.

"Where are you going? And what type of mission is it?" I asked going back to the stove and putting the cookies in a sealing scroll. Might as well make them travel cookies.

"It's an escort mission to the Land of Waves," Sasuke said. Land of Waves and an escort mission, huh. They would be gone at least two weeks. I nodded to them and thought if I could get a mission to be away for two weeks. Hinata was gone for the month training with her team for the Chunins and Sai was still on his mission for ROOT. I didn't like staying in the village by myself. I actually fall into the darkness very quickly when the boys are gone.

"Will you be fine with us gone for so long?" Naruto asked, having finished his sandwich. I nodded, but he didn't seem convinced.

"I'll get a mission or a couple of missions. Don't worry." Naruto knew how I got sometimes, but Sasuke was still a little clueless. I wasn't very forth-coming with my disabilities or past. "Now go pack or else you'll be late. Kakashi said an hour, but it'll probably be an hour and a half. But you guys don't have time to waste."

Naruto hurried off, while Sasuke brought me their plates to wash. Taking the plates from him, I noticed I grew a little. I was now rounding about four seven and only an inch shorter than Naruto who also grew. I washed the plates quickly and packed some scrolls with food and water for them. Smelling the town, I could smell Kakashi getting ready as well as Sakura. But somewhere on the border I smelled the familiar aroma of ink and leaves. Sai was home.

Smiling subconsciously, I was overjoyed. Then I remember that he saw my face and I grew grim. He left just after he had seen my face. Did that mean he thought I was ugly? Or maybe he didn't want to be friends with me because I was so self-conscious about my face. Maybe he knew who I really was. These thoughts had been swirling in my head for the four months he was gone.

"_You know none of that is true,"_ Soubi told me, still laying on the couch.

"_You are not ugly. And he is your friend. He probably needed to go on that mission,"_ Arawn tried to convince me.

"_Then why didn't he say goodbye or leave me a note?"_ I asked them angry at Sai.

"_He is different. He doesn't know any better,"_ they said in unison. They were just too creepy when they did that.

"Morrigan, do you have the food?" Sasuke asked, releasing me from my thoughts.

"Yah, right here." I handed him the food I just packed and smelled the air. Kakashi was heading to the gates with a new scent, probably the client. "Kakashi is heading to the gates. We better get going."

"Naruto hurry up," Sasuke yelled. Sasuke was always the more mature one. Naruto ran into the room, tripping on the same rug he always does. I grabbed the scroll of cookies on the stove and began to run out the door. I ran with the boys to the gates and met Kakashi, Sakura and the client there.

"Kakashi I expect you to keep them safe," I told him. The client looked at me curiously as I glared at Kakashi.

"You know I will," he replied with an eye smile. He bent down and I fist-bumped the crooked piece of metal. Smiling, I turned to Sakura and squeezed both her shoulders. The scroll of cookies in my hand.

"Sakura, you call me if something goes wrong. And here are some cookies." I handed her the cookies and she nodded in understanding. Turning to Sasuke I saw him give a rare smile. He was always happy when I sent them off. His mother never had the chance to see him, but both he and Naruto saw me as a mother figure. Well as close to a mother as they are going to get.

"Go easy on Naruto, he isn't as smart as you. And remember, sometimes you should trust your teammates." I fist-bumped his forehead and he got that strange look he always does. It was always something of absurd happiness for him when I sent him off.

"Yah, I know," he scoffed, a slight smile on his lips. I smiled and turned to Naruto.

"It might be scary out there," I warned him. He had never been out of the village before.

"I can handle it," he said cocky.

"Just remember your training and whatever you do, don't freeze. Got it? React first, then freak out when the person is dead," I told him sternly, fist-bumping the metal. He smiled widely at me.

"I'm gonna be Hokage Morrigan, I won't freeze. Believe it," he yelled, thrusting his fist into the air. I looked to the client and smiled.

"You listen to them, ya hear?" I ordered with a low voice.

"Who are you kid?" he asked, getting angry with my tone.

"You don't need to know who I am, just that if any of them return with so much as a fingernail missing I'll kill you. Then after I kill you I will follow you to the afterlife and when you're reincarnated, I'll kill you again. Fucking understand?" I said dangerously. The man nodded quickly. I grinned and took a step back from them.

"Well, we'll be back in two weeks if everything goes correctly," Kakashi said.

"I will wait for your safe return," I told them. They walked out of the village and I stood there until they were out of sight. I sighed and turned to go home. Teleporting to the living room, I had to dodge a tanto blade.

"Damnit Sai," I said angrily, "this is my own fucking house. I shouldn't have to dodge sharp objects when I'm coming home!"

* * *

**Hey, super tired. Ate some really good ice cream earlier. Remember to follow, fave, review, obsess. (I do not own Naruto) Loves yous guys. **


	19. I'm a Monster No, You're Beautiful

"**All little girls should be told they are pretty, even if they aren't."**

― **Marilyn Monroe**

"**Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."**

― **Confucius**

"**But he who dares not grasp the thorn**

**Should never crave the rose."**

― **Anne Brontë**

* * *

After dodging Sai's tanto and swearing at him profusely, I calmed down. Sai was dressed in his regular ROOT short black jacket and black shinobi pants. His face was dirty and he had some cuts on his stomach and face that were bleeding lightly.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I asked angrily. Sai stood in the middle of the living room and didn't answer. Making a frustrated groan I went into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out the leftover cookie dough. My oven was still on and I grabbed a cookie tray.

"Danzo-sama had a very important mission that had to be completed. He asked me to go." I angrily started to shovel cookie dough onto the tray.

Not looking up I said, "Don't lie Sai. You don't do it well."

I knew he was lying. Danzo had told me he burst into his room and asked for a mission. He also asked for one with a longer deadline. I finished putting the cookies on the tray and carefully put them in the oven. Sai was quiet the entire time.

"What are you doing?" Sai asked, breaking the silence.

"Making cookies." I answered but then realized what he was doing. "Don't change the subject. Why did you take the mission?"

"Why are you angry at me?" he asked. I moved so I was facing him in the living room. He looked at me with that emotionless face I hated. That's when I lost it.

"Why the fuck do you think? You leave me without saying a word, without a goodbye. You could have even left me a note. But you just up and left. Now I know I'm only your friend but come on. You're my best friend and I'm your only friend. Then I find out you weren't even fucking assigned the mission, you asked for it. You asked for a three month mission which turned into a four month mission. I fucking worried if you would be okay by yourself. We're a team. Even though I don't fucking like working with people I'll work with you. Why did you leave me?" I screamed. It was a good thing there were no neighbors here.

"I left because I thought you would be angry with me." Sai avoided eye contact with me. For a second in my rage I forgot what he did.

"Why would I be mad?" I yelled. The wolves came up next to me, having tried to avoid the situation.

_"Calm down. Your seals are nearly breaking,"_ Soubi urged.

I looked down at the top of my hands. The seals were shaking on my skin. I quickly took a couple of steps back from Sai. Trying to take large breaths, Sai made to close the gap between us.

"Don't come any closer Sai," I ordered. I looked at him and he had a confused look on his face. He put his arm out in a motion for me to come to him, but I shook my head.

"I am sorry for what I did. I didn't know what came over me, but I couldn't help myself," he said to me. His face showed signs of sadness and regret. He isn't going to allow me to calm down. I need to tell him or else I risk killing the entire village. The village I swore to protect.

"Sai, now is not the time. You need to stop talking or else really really **really **bad things will happen." Well I didn't really tell him, but I told him enough. Sai immediately shut up and after ten minutes of staring at my seals, I calmed down.

"Morrigan?" Sai asked when I sighed, "Are you alright?" I watched the seals on my hands just to be sure they stopped moving. My hands were trembling with fear. What if I didn't calm down? What if I changed? What if I killed people? What if they knew what I really was? What if? What….if….what….if?

Suddenly my hands stopped shaking. Sai had crossed the length between us and now held my hands in his. His thumbs went out to caress the top seals. I looked up to his face to see him staring right at me. His gaze held something I had never seen before. I had never seen the look in anyone else I had ever met and I didn't know exactly what it was.

"I'm fine," I whispered. Sai continued to hold my hands and stare at me. I could feel warmth coming to my face and wondered what was wrong with me. Why was I blushing? Sai is only doing this because he thinks it's the social protocol. He doesn't see you as anything but a teacher, his boss at ROOT. I took my hands back from him and went to sit on the loveseat. Sai followed me and sat on the couch with the wolves.

"I'm sorry that I removed your mask. I shouldn't have after you told me not to, but something overcame me. I read up on it and I believe it was curiosity," he told me, going to stroke Arawn. The black wolf conceded to his touch. I glared at the wolf. He only liked Sai because he held onto the ridiculous notion that I liked him.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know?" I asked him. Sai looked at me with a puzzled expression. "It's a saying. Cats are curious creatures and they are often killed by their nature. Therefore the saying is telling you to not do something on sole curiosity or because it is merely your nature."

"Oh," he replied. I was trying to find a way to tell him that I was still angry, but not risk going berserk when he said, "What happened though? You said you would tell me."

"Damn," I muttered. I have to tell him. Being a girl of their word, I couldn't go back on what I said. Even if I did say it in an energy less stupor. Fingering my mask gently I began to feel the fear of rejection. Man I don't think I could ever date anyone. The first time I get dumped I would kill myself. That is, if I could.

"You don't have to tell me, if you feel," Sai searched for the word, "uncomfortable."

"No, I'll tell you." Taking my mask off like it was the wire of a bomb, I laid it down on the coffee table. I felt nervous about lifting my head, but did it quickly. It's just like pulling off a Band-Aid. I sighed before starting at the beginning.

"When I was younger, I lived in a shinobi village. Now my family was very influential and I was the next heiress and the village was to be my responsibility like the Hokage is to this village. But like everything in life someone wanted what we had and they learned to hate and even fear us. A rival clan decided to go through with a coup d'état on my fifth birthday. That day, they killed my entire clan including my mother and father. I watched them fight to the death in front of me." I rattled off the story with no emotions. The timer which was set when I put the cookies in, went off. Quietly Soubi went to kitchen to get them. He's such a good boy.

"They were going to take me hostage or throw me out of the village, I don't know. But when the heir grabbed a hold of me, I burned the imprint of my hand on his left cheek. In return he carved his family's symbol into my face. I'm sure the scar would have healed if I let it, but I was little and so scared. The pain hurt me so much, and I couldn't bare it. So, I closed the wound by burning it. Later, he took me to the walls of the village and banished me. Of course, I couldn't live with the fact I was an orphan and I was being banished from the very village I was supposed to protect, so I forced his hand. By pissing him off, I caused him to get fed up with me and he stabbed me with a katana in the stomach. All the scars of that night still remain. All of them but his finishing blow being burned to a close. That is how I got all my scars."

I let Sai digest all that information. I looked down into my hands and reached for my mask. My mask was stolen away by Sai. I glared at him and he held the mask in his hands. He looked at it with newfound sadness, and I went to open my mouth only to be interrupted.

"Why do you wear the mask though? Plenty of shinobi have scars," he told me. He looked me straight in the eyes and I looked at him stunned. Figuring I had come this far, why not tell him the rest, I told him the truth.

"Because they got their scars in defending themselves and living. I, I have no right to show my scars as a badge of honor. I didn't survive," I told him.

"But you are here," he said.

"Yes, but the little girl I used to be disappeared. She is dead," I said darkly. I wasn't the same. That little girl had a grip on her emotions better than I did now. That little girl was so innocent, so pure. Besides, I am something different in physical matter also.

"Yes, but you shouldn't be ashamed of your face. You could wear your mask and not really care when your face was seen for a minute. But when I looked at you, you looked ashamed."

"Because I am."

"Why?"

"Because I have to look at my face and see I wasn't strong enough. See that even though I am still here, I am the only one here. I have to live forever with his mark on my face and be reminded he killed my parents."

"You were five, Morrigan. You can't believe you could defend yourself against what I am assuming were adults. What is the real reason?"

"Those are real reasons," I said quietly looking at Sai. He had his angry face on. It was just the slight creasing of eyebrows.

"Those can't be the major reason, Morrigan. I just know they can't." Damnit Sai. I don't want to tell him the real reason. Those were reasons, but they weren't the one keeping me from showing my face. Those weren't the reasons I started to hide my face years after my death.

"Because," I started. My hand went up and gingerly touched my scar. The raised skin was protruding, and felt almost like plastic. "Because it makes me a monster. I am nothing but an ugly monster."

Soubi came back from his cookie duty, and sat next to me. He gently nudged my hand to make me pet him. He and Arawn had been telling me for years that I was not ugly nor did the scar remind them of a monster. Of course, these cries have fallen on deaf ears for years. It all started when I realized I had the crazy wolf demon side to me and that guy shot me in the head. He called me a monster. My scar, he said, was satanic and I shouldn't be alive. To look in the mirror and hear his voice saying, 'get out of here you freak', was just too much. I started to believe I was the freak with the ugly face. I started to believe I was the monster.

"You are not ugly." My head jolted up from looking at Soubi. Sai was looking at me with that angry expression still, but it was lined with some amount of fear. To other people, it might seem as emotionless, but I knew Sai.

"Yes, I am," I reassured him. I stared at him with a sad expression and he realized that I wouldn't be swayed. He handed me back my mask and I quickly put it on. Feeling like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. I made a move to get up. Sai quickly came to the front of me and removed my mask. He held it in his hands and looked at it.

"You could never be ugly Morrigan. You are my friend, but even if you weren't I don't think I would see you as ugly. I see your scar as a sign you have gone through very hard times, but even with the scar your face is still beautiful. You are still beautiful." He looked down at my face and smiled. This smile was not forced, but was so small you might think it was your imagination.

"Thank you Sai." I said up to him. Sometimes he could say things that made me want to take back what I ever thought. The memory of being called a monster quickly came up in my mind. It was quickly overshadowed by this new memory of Sai calling me beautiful.

I smiled back at the pale boy and hesitantly raised my hand to his face. It was littered with small cuts, and I made an attempt to wipe the falling blood away. I took my hand back quickly and stepped away from him. Sai looked surprised at the sudden contact, but smiled his real smile at me. Giving me my mask, I yanked Sai to the hall.

"You go get cleaned up, then we can have some cookies and discuss how your mission went," I told him. He smiled at me and went to the guest bathroom to clean up. He already knew there was ointment and bandages there. I went to the dining room table and took a cookie off of the table.

"He called me beautiful," I giggled girlishly. Maybe now, I had things to talk about with Mei.

* * *

After Sai left from having cookies with me I went to the Hokage to get some missions. He said, I would have to wait a week but I could come back the next day. Of course, when I went back to see the Hokage the next day, I learned that my team's C-rank was boosted up to an A-rank. I was concerned and decided to remain in the village should news come back.

It had been the fourth day since my team was gone and I was currently training with Sai. We were going head to head with our weapons. Sai quickly kicked me in the stomach and cut part of my sleeve. I retaliated with teleporting in back of him and slapping the back of his head. It was all for fun, until I realized my ROOT jacket had a gaping hole in it.

"Sai? Seriously? Like why the fuck would you make a hole in my jacket? Now I have to patch it," I whined after jumping a few feet away from him.

"I can just order you a new one," he replied, sheathing his tanto. I let Arawn and Soubi out in wolf mode and grabbed Sai to teleport home. When we were in the living room I stomped off to my bedroom.

"I don't want a new one," I yelled at Sai, several rooms over. I rummaged in my closet and pulled out my hooded purple cloak. I sighed, thinking how I had to mix identities because of Sai. I pulled off my ROOT jacket and my hitai-ate and placed my purple cloak on. Coming out of the bedroom with my hitai-ate in hand I found Sai eating leftover onigiri.

"Would you like one?" he asked. I groaned at him and grabbed an onigiri, placing my hitai-ate on the table.

"Man, I don't know how you can act like this in my house! It's like you live here!" I joked at him. He looked at my face seriously.

"Can I live here?" he asked. I was suddenly taken aback.

"_He wanted to live here?"_ I asked the wolves.

"_You are his only friend,"_ Soubi replied.

"_And he likes you too much," _Arawn put it. I groaned mentally. Then I felt it. It was like a pull on my life energy. I didn't know what was happening at first but then realized one of my rings was being used.

"Sai, I have to go. Someone's in trouble. There's food in the fridge and you can have the extra room," I said quickly. Sai looked stunned as I summoned Arawn in weapon mode. Smiling reassuringly, I teleported to the seal.

"Thank kami you're here Morrigan. I didn't know what to do," Sakura said. I quieted her down to assess the situation. Looks like they encountered a Missing-Nin. There was a large man fighting Kakashi with a Mist hitai-ate. That man if I'm not mistaken is also wielding a Legendary Sword. Great, he's probably S-ranked Nin. Looking for an opening in their fighting I jumped in, parrying the large sword with Arawn.

I pushed Kakashi back and gave him a stern look. He was worn out and already had his Sharigan out. Yep, he's definitely an S-ranked Nin. The large sword came at me and I teleported to the man's side, kicking him. He was blown back a few feet and I stood with Arawn. Might as well wait for him to get up. He made a move to get up, when I noticed both Sasuke and Naruto go at the man with Chidori and Rasengan. Just as they were about to hit the man, water prisons sprouted up from the water we were standing on. Fuck, Naruto and Sasuke just got themselves captured.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Could it really be the Shinigami's wolf huntress here to kill me?" asked a voice to my right. The man I kicked disappeared in poof of smoke. It was a damn decoy. He knew I was here when I teleported. Turning to my right I saw a large man. He had no shirt and wore the baggy striped pants that all swordsmen from Mist wore. His lower part of the face and neck was bandaged, but I recognized his face.

"Zabuza Momochi. Wouldn't expect to find you all the way out here? Now what are you doing?" I asked slyly. I didn't look like I was a part of this squad. Might as well pretend I was here just for him.

"Oh, you know how the money is. I was offered a job out here, to kill him." Zabuza nodded his head to the client and I internally groaned. That client was nothing but trouble.

"Well, Zabuza, that's where you're wrong. I get paid way more than you. But enough of this fucking dialogue, why don't you release the stupid kids and we can get to it." Zabuza laughed, but released both Naruto and Sasuke. I stared at them blankly as they went to Kakashi's side. They picked their sensei up and went to join Sakura and the client. Kakashi used way too much of his Sharigan. When the boys passed me, I noticed Sasuke gained his Sharigan as well.

"Whenever you're ready. I would like to add killing the legendary bounty hunter of Mist to my book."

"Like you could ever," I said smelling the air. "Why don't you call down your little buddy too? You could use all the help you can get." Another shinobi appeared next to Zabuza with a flurry of snowflakes. This shinobi wore the Hunter Nin standard uniform, though I knew he was a fake. Hunter Nins always wanted the job done quickly.

"Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals," said the masked Nin. Suddenly there were mirrors all around me, Zabuza and the masked Nin. The masked kid then went into one of the mirrors while Zabuza made handsigns.

"Hiding in the Mist technique," he said quietly. Suddenly there was mist all around us. So there were mirrors which I suppose the other Nin could attack from at any time as well as the mist which made it so I couldn't see. This is just great.

In the next second senbon came at me, as I smelled Zabuza draw near. I teleported behind Zabuza to have some senbon imbed themselves into my chest and stomach. I swung Arawn at Zabuza, barely getting him in the side. He then came back at me as ice shards were flung in the air. I parried the large sword and kicked large Nin. This time, he recovered quickly and came at me. I jumped a few feet away and tried to think of my options.

"Silent killing," rang both the masked Nin's and Zabuza's voices. My sense of smell was at a great disadvantage in this mist and it was only because Soubi was out and directing me that I was able to counter and defend. A moment later senbon rained down on me and I barely escaped a large sword. Thinking of just frying them with lightning I got an idea. I smirked thinking of a quick fix to all this. Pulling Soubi inside as well as Arawn, I ran through hand-signs. This technique used half of my chakra, but I didn't feel like making this a long battle.

"Blue Fire Release: Spikes of Heaven." My body created a large amount of blue fire and coated my body with it. From there the blue fire created a sort of sphere around me. When I thought the sphere was large enough I pushed the fire away from me in spikes. The spikes could be either as small as a senbon or wide as a katana. I made them wider and shot them at the mirrors and Zabuza. Immediately the mist faded and I knew Zabuza was dead. The mirrors were cracked but faded into non-existence. In front of me was Zabuza, with spikes through his body. He was trying to protect the masked Nin who was under him, impaled with the same spikes through Zabuza.

"_Wow, was that a quick fight."_ Pulling out the senbon from my legs and body, I let both wolves out. They went to sniff the bodies to make sure they were killed.

"_The masked Nin is still alive. Would you like me to take care of them?"_ asked Arawn. I shook my head and headed over to where the two lay. Calling Arawn in weapon mode, I coated him with blue fire. Mercifully I swung him quickly, beheading both Nin. I went to get some bounty hunter seals and scrolls from my weapons pouch only to remember I didn't have it. Since Sai and I were only training with our main weapons, I never put it on. Great now I can't collect the bounty on either of them.

I turned and walked back to where my team stood. Both Naruto and Sasuke were only lightly injured. They probably were fighting along with Kakashi. I looked to Kakashi to see he was drained and being held up by the client. He must have overdid it with the Sharigan while protecting the boys. It was a learning experience for all of them. For Naruto and Sasuke, the lesson was to learn when to jump into a fight. For Kakashi, the lesson was to sometimes not listen to your students when they said they could help. For Sakura, the lesson was to learn when to call for help and also how to patch up your sensei.

"Let me guess, people don't want you to build the bridge?" I asked the client. I got the whole story from the Hokage. I knew the bridge builder knew the bridge had opposition to its making.

"You're the girl from the village. The one who sent us off," he gaped. He couldn't understand that I was just that good at my job. Then again it might have been that I told him he would die if anyone got hurt.

"Wow, you've got a great fucking memory. Must be great at board games," I said a little hostile. I let Arawn out in wolf form and turned to Sakura.

"You were right to call me. You did very well. Do you need any more assistance?" I asked her. She was the next capable leader next to Sasuke, but he was a little banged up and would never admit to needing my help on a mission. Besides she summoned me, so she should be the one to send me home.

"Well," she looked to the boys then Kakashi before sighing, "no I think we can handle it. If we need you, I'll call."

"Good answer," I replied. This was their mission. I shouldn't really butt into their missions. Being on a whole other level, it wasn't fair for them. I nodded to each of them, but glared at the client before teleporting to the kitchen. Sai immediately was at my throat with his tanto. I was too tired to really care if he killed me or not at this point. Traveling that long distance then using more than half my chakra was exhausting.

"Morrigan? Are you alright?" he asked quickly taking the tanto from my neck. I nodded and took off my cloak. There was my black muscle top underneath it, but it had small holes from the senbon.

"Yah, I'll live." I replied.

* * *

My team returned a month later and I heard the rest of the story from Sasuke and Naruto. Turns out my suspicions about Kakashi letting the two boys go at Zabuza with him was correct. They were actually doing pretty well until they made the fatal mistake of friendly fire. Kakashi saved them both thanks to the Sharigan, but the battle dragged on even more, with Kakashi having used too much chakra. When I left them, Sakura of course healed them all before Kakashi made them do some training.

They trained by learning to walk on water. I was happy I didn't have to be there, due to how Naruto and Sasuke fought about who learned it faster. I scoffed at their rivalry and told them that it didn't matter as long as they both learned how to do it. When the bridge was almost finished the guy who hired Zabuza sent a bunch of thugs to kill the bridge workers. Of course my team handled that quickly and they returned home without as much as a scratch from that fight.

Sai took my offer when I left and is now living with us to the boy's dismay. They are somehow unnerved by Sai, but I don't care. He's my best friend next to Naruto and accepts me. Well he accepts me for as much as I have told him. No one in the village actually knows I'm a demon, or a monster for that fact. I like it like that. Sometimes the veil of ignorance is a good thing. It keeps people from freaking out too badly.

During that month I also got to go on a couple of missions. Mostly the extermination of really weak Missing Nin. In my free time I trained with Sai and I made sure Danzo wasn't doing some creepy shit. Danzo wasn't and I got to actually do some things I like to do. I re-tattooed all my seals in one go. No need to wait another month to do the ones at the tops of my arms. Then I visited my little bar and played my violin in the dead of the night. It was really nice to just relax for a change, though we're getting back to business.

The Chunin exams start in five days. Of course Kakashi already let the kids know they were competing. He was going to wait until the last second, the late bastard that he is, but I made him give them some time. I heard that Hinata and some of Naruto's classmates from the Academy are also competing. I am happy for them all and wish them the best of luck.

Of course I'm not competing, but I have the very important job of being the proctor for the third part of the exam. I wasn't even supposed to, but the proctor got majorly sick, and the nurses won't let him out for a month. So yay for Morrigan being the adult and giving an exam to kids her age and older. Fuck, it's just too much work. But I think it would be better since I get to watch that red-head from Sand. I don't want him to go all ape-shit in my village.

The Hokage called me in a couple of days ago and told me that his student Orochimaru might show up at the exams. Though the old man and Jiraiya think he won't be able to get into the village, I'm doubtful. If someone wants to kill you badly enough, they'll find a way to get into the village. So as a precaution I made them give me a scent patch with his scent. Of course this one is also outdated, but I stand by the fact that if he hasn't switched bodies, I'll be able to track him.

The team is having 'bonding' training before the Chunins and they're making me come join them. I really think that they want me to come, just in case they summon me. It's perfectly legal to have summons and I guess I count as one, so they could use me in the exam. I think they also want me to give them hints on what the exam will be like. My answer to that is, 'I don't know. I have never fucking taken them'.

* * *

**How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is doing great. I am super tired but I couldn't sleep so I wrote this chapter. I'll probably read over it tomorrow afternoon to check if it isn't atrocious. I literally just fixed a grammatical mistake right now. I'll definitely check it tomorrow afternoon. Pinky swear. So remember to review, fave, follow, obsess, about the story. If you don't I won't find you and haunt your bedroom. If you do I won't do anything, but maybe give you a cookie. Yay cookies. (I Do Not Own Naruto)**


	20. Best Friends and Marriage Flowers

"**Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .""**

― **C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves**

"**It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages."**

― **Friedrich Nietzsche**

* * *

"Come on Morrigan!" yelled Naruto. I waved him off, and he ran chasing after his little friends. Konohamaru and his little team wanted him to go play ninja with him. Naruto wanted me to get in on the fun, but I had to shop. I continued to the shopping district. We were all out of food and tomorrow we were training, so the boys would be super hungry. Then after that was the Chunins, so Sakura would probably spend the night tomorrow.

I walked around the market and purchased a bunch of stuff. I would probably make some western foods this week. I was too lazy to really prepare anything that I had to read the directions. Getting the staples, I wandered around the store some more. Picking up stuff for hamburgers and some for spaghetti, I turned to the liquor. Buying a bunch of whiskey, the store clerk looked at me curiously. They had my picture behind the counter saying to give me whatever booze I wanted. So I walked out of the store and teleported to the kitchen.

"Sai, can you put the groceries away? I have to go find the boys," I yelled into the house. Sai's muffled response came back and I teleported into the trees lining the training areas. I let Soubi and Arawn out in wolf from and began to go to where I smelled both Naruto and Sasuke. They weren't alone. I sped up and made Arawn into weapon mode. Quickly throwing him down between the standoff, the large blade stuck into the earth. I jumped down and stood on his handle which was in line with the ground.

"I have warned you before not to test me," I said venomously. It was the Sand Nin who were competing in the Chunins, but they weren't any Sand Nin these were the Nin I met in the desert. The cocky one was standing a few feet away from Konohamaru who was laying on the floor. Naruto was going to pick up the kid as I stood there looking at the strangers. Sasuke was in a tree close by and Sakura was guarding the other two kids.

"You," he let out. His eyes bulged in fear and the girl next to him made a move towards me. Soubi quickly stood in her path, and I smelled the air for the red-head. He appeared next to the girl and looked at me murderously.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you guys have groceries to help Sai put away. Sakura get the kids and escort them home. I would like to have a little chat with my friends," I said dangerously. My team knew better than to disobey a direct order and set off quickly. I jumped down from my scythe and let Arawn out in wolf mode. The girl and boy dressed in black jumped.

"I was only playing around," the cocky boy sputtered. I put my hand up to stop him. They all looked at my palm with a sense of wonder. I forgot this is the first time they see me without an ANBU uniform. My arm tattoos were concealed by my ROOT jacket, but my palm seals were out.

"I don't care who fucking started it. I don't even care if you were just defending yourselves, which I highly doubt. What I care about is that you remember whose village you're in. This is my turf and I am not afraid to murder people to keep it safe. Do you fucking understand?" I said this in a deep tone. The girl and hooded boy quickly flinched and nodded. The red-head looked at me venomously. He wasn't used to being bested was he?

"Who are you?" he gritted out. This was very hard for him wasn't it? I grinned psychotically and turned my back to him. I had no reason to stay here any longer. Suddenly my feet were encased in sand. Fuck, he really wanted to talk to me. The sand forced me to turn me around and I was suddenly facing the three Sand Nin.

"**Who** are you three?" I asked cheekily. They all glared at me, losing some of their fear. The wolves fixed that with growls, and they were back to fearing me.

"My name is Sabaku no Gaara. This is my sister Temari and brother Kankuro," he said. I knew they were coming to the exams, but the Hokage didn't let me know their names. The old man said something about confidentiality or something, I wasn't really paying any attention.

"Morrigan. I would say I was pleased to meet you, but I'm not. I would have preferred it if the old man didn't let you in here. But since you **are **allies, I guess I could make an exception. But if you dare let that thing inside of you out, you will wish you were never fucking conceived," I chuckled to them as if we were saying jokes.

"And what if I do?" Gaara asked, smirking darkly.

"Well, let me tell you something," I said, then teleported to his side and whispered in his ear, "you aren't the only monster here."

Quickly teleporting to the Hokage's office with the wolves, I had to dodge multiple shuriken. After I was being attacked, I saw who his audience was. It was Kurenai and Asuma, both looked quite peeved that I barged in on their meeting. I looked to the Hokage who was smoking his damned pipe. He quickly put it out and dismissed the two Jounin. Those two never warmed up to me after they learned I was the Huntress.

"What is wrong Morrigan? The exams aren't for another two days, you aren't supposed to see me until then," the old man said as I took a seat in the couch I put in his office.

"The Sand Nin are here. They had a run in with your grandson," I told him. It would be better if he heard this from me and not some other person.

"Really?" he asked, his eyes growing wide. I sighed and rested my head in my hands.

"I think we should put some ANBU on them. They seem like they're up to something. That Gaara doesn't seem like one to joke around, and he joked with me about letting the demon out." There was something going on, I could feel it.

"We don't have enough personnel at the moment. There are too many watching the walls," he said quietly. I forgot we didn't put any seals on the door to make sure no else heard us. I sighed and thought of what I could do. I couldn't very well stalk them. The boys have to be watched, and even though Sai is there I would feel better if it was me. If only I had someone who I bossed around who was strong enough to watch them. Something like an evil organization. Bingo.

"It's alright old man, I'll handle it," I told him quietly.

"Remember they are still allies. Unless you come out with some wounds, don't engage them." He was a true diplomat. Screw you, if you're going to kill someone make it look like self-defense. Doesn't matter if it's true or not.

"Of course," I replied. Teleporting home, I found all three boys waiting for my arrival. Sasuke was sitting on the opposite end of the couch from Sai. Both were staring helplessly at the door. Naruto was pacing back and forth.

"Morrigan, you're back!" yelled Naruto when he noticed me. He ran towards me only to trip on the same rug in the middle of the room. I face-palmed and shook my head. When would he learn that rug was there?

"Did you guys put the groceries away?" They all nodded like good boys and smiled at their happiness.

Going into the kitchen I took out the ingredients for dinner. The boys all went about their normal pre-dinnertime routine. Sai sat at the kitchen table sketching in his book. Naruto took his shower first, but came out to only mess with Sai. Sasuke disappears then takes his shower after Naruto. While Sai goes showers, Sasuke helps me set the table. I let dinner sit so I can take my shower after Sai and then we eat. We could all shower at the same time, but then we got only cold water.

Dinner was something simple: Hamburgers and baked beans. The boys could never understand how I learned to cook these things, and I told them it was a secret. They never complained about my cooking, especially when I made cookies or Sasuke's favorite, plain scones. He doesn't really like sweets so the cookies I make are more savory than sweet. When night came, I told Sai we had to go meet Danzo. We waited until Naruto and Sasuke went to bed, then teleported to Danzo's room.

"Morrigan and Sai, what a pleasant surprise," he said. I wondered how long he actually stays in this room. Maybe he sleeps during the afternoon or something. Even though I was with him a lot when Sai was gone I never really learned.

"I need to speak with the Aburame we have here. There's a certain mission I would like for him to take. It has to be discreet." Sai immediately left to go find the bug wielder, leaving me with Danzo.

"What do you need him for? Assassinations aren't normally something you give up so easily," he said jokingly. It was amazing how he could be so fucked up, yet can joke around with me.

"It's not an assassination. I like to feel the last breaths of my prey," I joked back. Okay so maybe I was fucked up too.

"Hm. Then what is it for?" he asked. He had a slight smile behind his bandaged face, but he was mostly curious.

"I'm sure you know that the Chunins are in two days and that the Nin from Sand arrived today," I told him.

"Yes, they were late. They were supposed to be here when we did the nominations, but something held them back. One of my sources said they left the village on time," Danzo said. He put his hands together and thought. That was fishy. They didn't seem like the kind to be late. They must have ran into someone on the way, or stopped to talk to someone. All of this is very suspicious.

"I don't like the way that sounds. They were the ones I ran into on my Huntress mission, besides the youngest has something in him. Be it a demon or tailed-beast I don't know, but I don't like him. He's too loose with it," I said a little angrily. I hated how he was okay with losing control of himself. Maybe it was because I never truly let my demon overtake me.

"You want to make sure he doesn't let it out, I see. You being a fuinjutsu master can seal him if he gets bad, like you did in the desert," Danzo deduced. I nodded my head as a knock signaled Sai's return.

"Torune, come stand here. My heiress has a mission for you," Danzo motioned to me and said. I quickly teleported beside Danzo and Torune kneeled down.

"Agent, you are to be a tracker to a Genin from Sand. He is the youngest of the three Sand Nin who are competing in the Chunin Exams. You can identify him from red-hair, kanji tattoo on his forehead, and gourd present on his back. I personally suspect that he is thinking of letting a demon out in the village, so I want your bugs to track his chakra. If there is a spike in it, you will alert me immediately. But tread carefully, he won't hesitate to kill you and your body won't look very comforting to our allies. Do you understand the terms of your mission?" I asked with the voice of a leader.

"Yes, Morrigan-sama," he replied.

"Good. You are dismissed Agent and are to start your mission immediately. I will tell you when to disengage this mission, but until I say further you go forward with my instructions," I ordered. Torune got up and left the room. I nodded to Danzo who was smiling proudly at me. I smiled back slightly, not used to his approval. Grabbing Sai we teleported back home. We went to bed and I slept soundly for the entire night. Soubi woke me up the next morning and I made some quick pancakes.

Today was the 'team bonding' and I had to get ready to train by eight. Though I wouldn't be ready until nine. Kakashi if I was lucky would show up at ten, but I would take my violin just in case. Getting ready, I dressed in my long red skirt with black muscle top. I wore long sleeve armor under my shirt and leggings under my skirt. Foregoing my jackets in the July heat, I chose shinobi sandals instead of my converse. They were just too hot. We all ate breakfast, then went to the training grounds.

I was playing the 'Godfather' theme song while waiting for Kakashi to show up. I can't see why he would schedule this so early in the morning, yet show up late. Just schedule it later then, and show up when you normally would. We had been waiting for almost three hours and it was already past noon. The kids were all just laying around. Sai had even shown up and was currently sketching in his book. I slowly changed into 'He's a Pirate'. I was so concentrated and lost in my music that I missed the kids sneaking up on me.

When I finished and sealed my violin, I found myself surrounded by my three teammates. I looked to them and they all pounced. Naruto was on top of me, while Sasuke and Sakura had both my arms. At first I laughed, thinking they were just playing around. But then Naruto's hands started creeping towards my mask. Attempting to flail and shake them off, Sasuke and Sakura holding me steady.

"Wait, fucking stop," I yelled desperately. Naruto gripped the side of my mask and I had no way out. I couldn't teleport with them touching me, but I couldn't let them see my face. Suddenly all three were pushed off of me, but Naruto took off my mask. Putting my now free hands to the left side of my face, I looked to where the kids fell.

"Sai, what are you doing? We almost saw her face!" Naruto whined. They thought this was all a game. I bowed my head in sadness and felt tears erupt from my eyes. I heard rustling and felt a presence over me. I looked at the feet and saw black shinobi sandals.

"Morrigan, are you alright?" Sai asked softly. I could feel my face was already fully wet. I sniffled and Sai knelt down to look into my right eye.

"You seem to ask me that a lot," I replied quietly. I looked into his eyes and he smiled that real smile of his. I smiled through my tears back at him. Looking to the others, I noticed they all looked a little stunned. Maybe it was because I was crying or maybe it was because Sai and I were only a foot away from each other. I gently leaned into Sai's chest and buried my hideous face in his chest. Sai was stunned for a moment, but gently put his arms around me.

I cried for what felt like hours, oblivious to the world around me. Oblivious to Kakashi finally showing up. Oblivious to my teammate's stares and apologies. Oblivious to how the sun was churning through the sky. Oblivious to my team finally leaving me alone. But I wasn't oblivious to Sai's comforting hold or his heart beating erratically.

"I'm sorry for this Sai," I apologized after coming away from him. I removed my hands from my face and smiled at him. He smile back at me and shook his head. That look from when he told me I was beautiful was in his eyes once again. Blushing lightly, I frowned gently at the expression. What did that mean? I stood up along with Sai and looked for my team.

"We're really sorry Morrigan," Naruto apologized. They had been training a few feet away, but when they saw I was done crying, they came to me. I was about to put my hand back to cover my face, but Sai's hand stopped me.

"They will not think of you differently Morrigan," Sai whispered to my ear. I turned my face fully to my team and saw their eyes widen in disbelief. Trying to smile, I felt Sai's hand trace circles around my left wrist. He then moved his hand to hold mine. I looked to him and quickly blushed. Why did he do these things?

"So are you two dating?" Sakura asked cheekily. I glared at her. This is just like when I first met them. Sakura laughed at my glare, no longer being affected by it. I turned back to Sai and gave him a bright smile before releasing my hand from his grip. I moved over to Sasuke who was cradling my mask in his hands. He didn't look at my face.

"Sasuke, it's alright. I'm not that ugly you know," I joked lightly. I was scared he was truly disgusted by my face. He looked up quickly and stared me straight in the face. His face held some child-like innocence in it.

"I'm sorry we made you cry. If we knew that it would upset you that badly, we wouldn't have done it. Plus you're not ugly Morrigan," he told me honestly. Since living with me he lost a lot of that doom and gloom. He in a way became more like Naruto. Sadly, I was yet to see Naruto act more mature like Sasuke.

"Thank you," I told him. Taking my mask back, I stepped away so I stood in front of all my teammates. Kakashi looked at me with a look of sadness in his eye. I grinned and told them, "Now eat your heart out guys, cause you aint' ever going to see my fucking face again."

They all laughed and I replaced my mask. From there we began to train. Sai and I were always against all three kids. Calling Arawn into my hand, I rushed at Naruto. He needed the most help with defending. He often just relied on shadow clones, but he had to be able to dodge himself. Sai was defending against Sasuke as Sakura rushed me. I was busy with Naruto, but quickly let Soubi out to defend. We spent the rest of the day training, before we all stopped and stared at the moon. The wolves were even too tired, and chose to return inside me.

"It's beautiful," I muttered to myself. Wanting to get home to start dinner I said, "Okay, it's time to go home. We are going to have spaghetti. You want to come Sakura?"

"Sure, but what's spaghetti?" she asked a little confused. I chuckled and began to run home. Everyone followed me and we got home in minutes. Kakashi left an hour ago, and I smelled him with the Hokage, probably asking what was wrong with my face or something.

Quickly going to the kitchen, I saw Sai and Sasuke get out the shogi board. They were going to be at it all night if I didn't stop them.

"Guys remember only one game, and you have to win in fifteen turns," I yelled getting out some tomatoes. I threw one to Sasuke who caught it and started eating it whole. Naruto got an apple and Sai and Sakura got some carrots. It was a while until dinner was ready, but everyone sat and ate the spaghetti happily. After, I made some tea and put out the scones I had finished before the meal.

"So what do you guys think the Exam is gonna be like?" Naruto asked from his place on the floor. Sasuke and Sakura sat together on the couch, while Sai and I took up the loveseat.

"Yah, don't you have any hints Morrigan?" Sakura asked me with puppy eyes. I laughed at her piteous attempt at baiting me.

"No. I have never taken them and I'm only proctor for the third round. The third round is always the same, one on one battles." I sipped my tea and motioned for Sai to give me a piece of his scone. I was too full to eat another whole one. Sai took one last bite before giving me the rest. I smiled and began eating happily.

"Morrigan are you sure you're not married to Sai?" Sasuke asked. I began to choke on my scone, Sai banging my back. Recovering quickly I looked at Sasuke. He had that damn smirk of his on his face and I knew he was teasing.

"I am not married to Sai for the last time," I yelled. Sai nodded his head.

"But you act like you're our parents. Sai helps you with dinner sometimes and paying the bills. Sometimes he even goes shopping to hold the bags for you. Then you guys share food like you're married. I mean he bit into that and you just ate it like nothing!" Naruto exclaimed. True Sai and I did have a weird relationship, but he was just my best friend.

"And today, he held you pretty close," Sakura added with a devious smile. I glared at her and turned to Sai. He looked like he always did when this came up: blank.

"Like I've told you we're just friends, now drop it." The all looked at me with unconvinced looks and smirked. I really couldn't tell what they were thinking.

"I think we should go to the hot springs after the Exams," Sakura said and quietly added, "I heard that they are making a section for everyone to go in."

"I don't like the hot springs," I said childishly. She just wanted me to get naked in front of Sai in a genderless bath place. I folded my arms across my chest and pouted. Sai next to me was literally bouncing up and down.

"I have never been to the hot springs. I would like to go," he said turning to me. The pout I had going for me fell off my face and was replaced by a small smile. He was so much like a kid it was ridiculous.

"I haven't been there in a long time," Sasuke added. Naruto groaned. The pervert that Jiraiya was, got him kicked out of the hot springs by association. Poor thing couldn't go, but Sakura was overjoyed with her matchmaking skills.

"_I would love to go,"_ Arawn said in my mind, then added, _"I like Sakura. She and I are trying to prove the same thing. That you're in love with Sai." _

"_Now I'm in love with him? When did the change happen?"_ I asked.

"_Today, when you felt his heartbeat,"_ Soubi added.

"_What?"_ I asked.

"_His heart was beating like he was excited or very happy. Then when he looked at you, you blushed once again. Because he held you and you felt so safe, you fell in love with him,"_ said Arawn plainly, like it was right in front of my face.

"_You can't fall in love with a person in a single moment,"_ I said, _"that's impossible."_

"_You've been slowly falling in love with him. Because you showed him your face, you trusted him enough to know one of your deepest darkest secrets. This has been developing over the last few months,"_ said Soubi who was now playing matchmaker with Arawn.

"_I can't see that. He's my best friend, not my lover. Besides he doesn't even know what it is to love someone. I haven't explained it to him yet,"_ I argued.

"_He knows what it feels like. With today, he most definitely knows it," _Arawn said mysteriously. They weren't helping me right now. My brain was a mess and I could see it. I wouldn't admit it. This isn't happening. Focus on the conversation on the outside.

"Alright then. If everyone wants to go, we'll go," I conceded. Sakura looked like she just accomplished the world's hardest mission. Turning to Sai I could tell he was excited. I smiled gently at him. Then I turned back to everyone.

"Time for bed and that includes you Sai. You guys have to be up early and Sai and I have to be up earlier if I'm making you the breakfast of champions," I said maternally. Everyone groaned, including Sai. Naruto was the first to be subjected to my glare and he marched unhappily to bed. Sasuke and Sai followed, knowing they already lost. Sakura stayed sitting and patted the seat next to her.

"Sit. I want to talk to you," Sakura said. I looked at her suspiciously but sat down next to her. "Are you sure you aren't in love with Sai?"

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" I groaned. Rubbing my exposed eye, I yawned. "No I am not in love with Sai. He's just my best friend."

"But you act like you're more than friends. You live together and act like an old married couple. Then when you see him act a certain way, you get this look in your eyes."

"Because I'm happy he's learning to be human. I know how it was to suppress so many things, so I am happy to see him happy."

"It's more than that. And he looks at you differently now too." I perked up at her words. He looks at me differently?

"How?"

"He looks at you with such an intense look I wonder how you aren't always blushing. He's in love with you just as much as you are with him." It was silent for a long time, my mind comprehending what she just said. But it didn't truly understand and therefore rejected the opinion.

"I don't believe you." Sakura sighed and shook her head. She gave me an exasperated smile.

"You just don't see it yet. But you will, and when you do I'll plan the wedding." Wedding? That was quick. She turned into full girl mode and began talking quickly, "We'll have every shinobi in the village come and I'll make it near the Hokage Monument. Then your flowers have to be carnations: red for 'my heart aches for you', white for 'innocence and pure love' and then they'll be stripped with the two colors for 'I wish I could be with you'. Of course you'll wish to always be with him. Then I'll get you to grow your hair out and I can put it with a braid in the crown. Your dress will have to have sleeves to cover your tattoos. The boys can take care of Sai and we'll have Kakashi or the Hokage walk you down the aisle. It will be beautiful!"

"Sakura. I don't like Sai," I told her when she looked at me expectantly. She hit me in the arm lightly. We finally got off of my love life and we talked about other things. The Exams, and should certain things happen what to do. We talked about how we would be when we were old and I told her when she married Sasuke that I would give her away instead of her father. Then we talked about how she was scared. I told her it was alright to be scared, but she had to be strong for everyone else.

"What if I'm not strong like you?" she asked in a small voice. I turned and smiled at her reassuringly.

"I'm not that strong. I'm broken and have cracks all over me. What makes me strong is that I try. As long as you try, everything will work out. I promise," I told her. Her eyes got teary and she hugged me. We stayed like that for a long time before she pulled away.

"Thank you so much Morrigan. I will always be happy that I met you. I don't know what would have happened without you. You are my role model and I want to be just like you," she said crying lightly. I was greatly touched until she added giggling, "Except for the swearing, tattoos, and onigiri obsession of course."

"What the fuck? My tattoos are for a purpose and onigiri rocks!" I complained at her. She giggled again and we ended up laughing loudly. I heard Sasuke bang on the wall for us to shut up, and we quickly made our way to the bedroom. I made a nest of blankets for myself and let the wolves out to sleep with Sakura. She had only one blanket and it was a little cold in my room, even though it was summer.

"Morrigan?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"You're my best friend."

"I know. And you're my best friend too."

"Goodnight. I love you, so don't ever leave."

"I love you too. Don't worry I'll be right here. I won't ever leave you."

* * *

**Hey guys, so a lot is going to happen in the next chapter. The Chunins are going to take place, but Morrigan isn't going to really be there because she isn't taking them exactly. She'll probably go mess with Ibiki and the kids then leave. But some really bad stuff is going to happen. I'm getting ready for the really sad parts by listening to Naruto sad songs. So many feels. (I do not own Naruto)**


	21. This Isn't Alright

"**It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things."**

― **Lemony Snicket, **_**Horseradish**_

**"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like."  
―Lemony Snicket**

* * *

"Alright so everyone has their forms?" I asked the kids on our way to the Academy. I wore my long red skirt but I had a black tube top on today and left my jacket at home. I had my tattoos out fully and my hair pulled up slightly to show my ANBU tattoo at my neck. Soubi was flanking me while I had Arawn out in weapon mode at my back.

"Yes, mother," they all chanted except for Sai. I told him that he didn't have to come, but he insisted. I think it's some type of curiosity since he never took the exams. I was excited to see what it was like too.

We all entered the Academy, all my kids surprisingly silent. When we got to the second floor, I felt a genjutsu fall upon us. Sai went to disable it, but I put my fingers to my lips. We had to let these guys figure out for themselves. We headed to where the room said 301 and saw two guys rattling off their gums. I recognized them as younger versions Izumo and Kotetsu, without even having known they were in a henge.

"So go home and play with your dolls," I heard Izumo tell a young kunoichi with buns in her hair. Playing the little kunoichi card are we? I went to take Arawn off my back when Sai put his finger to his mouth. Right this is their exams, and we're just following. I sighed and dropped my hand. My team went up to them.

"Nice speech. I know a couple of girls who would beg to differ. But that's going to have to happen another time. Let us through. We want to go to the third floor," Sasuke told them. People whispered how this was the third floor. I grinned at their stupidity.

"Yah, and release the genjutsu. It's pathetically weak," Sakura added. Naruto nodded his head in agreement. He probably didn't even know there was a genjutsu, only going along with his teammates. Kotetsu was a little hot headed and went to kick Sasuke. Sasuke in turn went to counter but both were stopped by a boy in a green suit. He was the one the girl with the buns was with. All three quickly disengaged and went to their respective places.

"What happened to the plan? I thought we were supposed to keep a low profile," said a Hyuga boy to the green suited ninja.

"I know but," greenie said to his teammates before turning to Sakura. His eyes got ever wider and I realized he liked Sakura. He came up to her and said, "My name is Rock Lee. And you are Sakura correct?"

"Uh, yah," Sakura said nervously looking towards me. I laughed at the look she had on her face. It was one of pure fear. As much as Sakura is my best friend she is extremely vain and probably thought this kid was super weird.

"Will you please be my girlfriend? I vow to always keep you from harm," Lee asked Sakura. Sakura looked to me one more time and I mouthed the word, 'polite'. I looked to Sasuke to see him slightly irked by the whole situation. Sai and I were merely grinning like fools watching the whole thing play out.

"Um. No thank you," she replied. Naruto chuckled as Lee looked at her and then bowed his head. He came up with a smile once again before I decided to intervene.

"Don't force her. If you want anyone to be your girlfriend get to know them first and then ask them. Besides we're in the middle of something right now," I told him. My team looked at me and then we proceeded to go to the third floor.

"Who are you people?" said the Hyuga. I let Sasuke and Sai handle this and Sai turned to the boy and glared slightly.

"It is social custom to introduce one's self before asking the name of another." I laughed at his textbook answer. The girl with the buns, I noticed was staring at my neck and then would turn to Sai's hitai-ate.

"We're people on our way to the exam room. Now if you would leave us alone, we can get there," Sasuke said. I was glad for Sasuke's comment. The girl's glaring was making me slightly moody. It reminded me when I went out in World C and everyone stared at my hair, eyes, and scar.

"Yah, we don't have to tell you anything. Believe it," Naruto yelled at them. I turned and led the way to the exam room. Before the doors I stopped and turned to them.

"Now remember don't lose your heads. This whole exam is going to be a mindfuck and nothing is as it seems. When you get in there don't embarrass yourself. Be wary of the Sand Nin you met the other day, especially the red-head named Gaara. If you can, try to stick with the other rookies. You guys were nominated for a reason and you are probably better ninja than half of the people in there. You fucking understand?" I asked them. I had given them each a pep talk before we left the house but felt like one more warning might help.

"Yes," they all responded in unison. I smiled at them and then moved aside to let them in, but the door opened before they touched it. From the door came Kakashi.

"Ah, I see that you guys have all come. I truly didn't have a doubt and have already submitted all your applications," Kakashi told them. I knew that they had to be in a three man squad to continue, but hadn't told them.

"But I thought you submitted them earlier?" Sakura asked.

"You can only take the Chunin Exam as part of a three man squad this year. I said it was your individual choice so you wouldn't be pressured. I had no doubt all of you would come today, so I submitted them before I saw you guys. I am very proud that you all came."

Kakashi could probably see his own team in these guys. I had read the report on him when I went to Mist. I knew his teammate Rin was the one Mist sealed the three tailed beast in. I also knew that Kakashi killed her, though it was more like her suicide. In addition to that Kakashi lost his other teammate earlier during the war. I felt bad for him. The kids all smiled and Kakashi moved aside to let them in. Sai and I lagged behind to talk to Kakashi.

"They remind you of your team huh?" I asked Kakashi.

"Hn," he replied. This would always be a touchy subject for him.

"They will do well. From my observations their teamwork is in sync as well as their individual skills. They have been training hard," Sai said looking at Kakashi. I told him that this would be hard for Kakashi, and this was Sai's attempt at being reassuring. I smiled at Sai, thankful for his presence, and he smiled back at me.

"Yes," I agreed with Sai before turning to Kakashi, "besides Sakura can always call me if they get into something they can't handle." Kakashi nodded and walked away from us. I sighed thinking how I shouldn't have mentioned his team.

"Let's go in Sai. It wouldn't hurt if we were there before the exam. Besides I wanna bug Ibiki when he gets in," I said. Sai nodded and we entered the room. I saw my team surrounded by two other Genin teams and went to them. Sai and Soubi flanked my sides while everyone in the room turned to me. All the competitors glared at me and Sai. I put on my psychotic smile and turned to all of them.

"Morrigan, Sai, come over here," Naruto yelled. After making my smile a little more psychotic, I turned to my team and their little friends. Recognizing some, I felt the look fall off my face into something more appropriate.

"Hey, guys. How you fucking doing?" I said to the group. I noticed Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji were smiling at me happily. Hinata smiled and waved from her spot behind Kiba. There were two people I didn't know. One was a girl with long blond hair dressed in a purple cowl neck dress with bandages on her legs like shorts. She had blue eyes and I figured she was part of that legendary Ino-Shika-Cho combo. That must make her the Yamanaka. Then the next I could tell was an Aburame, covered to the nose with a jacket and sunglasses. He had spiky hair and wore blue shinobi pants. Must be Hinata's other teammate.

"Morrigan, I haven't seen you in a long time. What are you doing here, I thought you were an ANBU," Kiba asked. Choji looked like he wanted to ask the same thing, but was too busy chomping on chips.

"I have to keep these guys in line," I said gesturing to my team. The Yamanaka froze from her place hanging on Sasuke. I looked at her and asked, "What don't think these guys have some powerful friends?"

"What is your relationship to Sasuke?" she asked narrowing her eyes. Ah, that was it. She wanted to know if the strong girl was Sasuke's girlfriend. I highly doubt that I would ever look like anything more than a mother to Sasuke.

"He's my roommate, along with Sai and Naruto," I said. Sai who had been quiet this entire time turned and saw a boy coming towards us. He grabbed my arm to get my attention then looked at the boy with glasses.

"Hey, you guys might want to keep your voices down. You're the nine rookies right?" he asked. I didn't like this boy with glasses. He smelled funny, almost like he was always in the hospital. He seemed like he had ulterior motives. I pushed my way so I was in front of him and stared.

"And what if they are? You going to give them advice like a doting older brother?" I asked cheekily. The boy got an angry look and I felt Soubi and Sai come up on both of my sides.

"Look around you. You guys have been causing a spectacle. Just calm down," he told me. Trying to go for the high and mighty routine are we?

"Oh, is that so? Well I can assure you that they will calm down, thank you for your concern," I told him. There was an obvious tension in the air and I could feel the nine kids were anxious. Sai and Soubi were ready to pounce.

"What is your name? You and your friend don't seem like Genins."

"Morrigan, no honorifics. And you are correct, we aren't Genin. Who are you? And why haven't you passed yet? You're pretty old." The boy scowled at me, he then pulled out a deck of cards.

"Kabuto Yakushi, and this is my seventh time taking the exam. When did you take the exam? I bet you're pretty useless about knowing information that could help them," he said haughtily. I did not like him one bit. I tilted my nose upward and moved past him with Sai and Soubi.

"I'll find you guys later. I have to go do something right now," I told the kids with a wave of my hand. I couldn't stand that guy. Going through the crowds of people, I found the Sand Nin.

"Gaara, Temari, Kankuro. How are you doing today?" I asked with a smirk. Temari and Kankuro tensed at my arrival while Gaara looked at me murderously.

"We are fine," Gaara replied. He didn't seem like one to talk, but he talked to me.

"Are you taking the exam?" Kankuro asked. Sai seemed to not like the fact I was talking to these guys. Probably heard from Sasuke and Naruto how they were bad news. That I told the kids to stay away from them.

"No. I'm proctoring it," I replied. Some teams that were eavesdropping quickly tensed and eyed me warily. Yes be afraid of the small girl who was your proctor. Be very afraid.

"You're proctoring this part?" Temari asked stunned. I grinned and shook my head.

"Not this one, but the third one. I just came here to see Ibiki," I replied going to make my way to the front of the room. I was done with them. I just wanted to let them know that I was going to be watching them very closely. I spotted a team from Mist in the corner of the room. They were a little scared, seeing that they were the odd ones out.

"Hey, how you guys doing?" I asked them after I teleported in front of them with Sai and Soubi. There were just too many people around here for my taste and I wouldn't have been able to get to them.

"You're the-the," the young girl stuttered. She was pretty with black hair gathered into a ponytail at her neck. Her eyes were a beautiful deep blue color which went well with her all blue shinobi outfit. On top of the blue shirt she wore a camouflage scarf which hid a tanto at her back.

"Shhhh," I put my finger to my lips. Her teammates looked at me in awe. One was a boy with blue hair and dark-rimmed glasses. He wore a lighter blue striped sweater with camouflaged patterned pants. He carried a large bandaged sword with two handles. The next boy was much larger than the other boy and had his face bandaged to his eyes. He wore what seemed to look like a Hunter Nin uniform but of a blue color instead of green. His black eyes were opened in wonder.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked quietly. Mei sent one of her younger teams, and I was slightly worried for them. They all were my kids' age with the baby fat clinging to their cheeks.

"I'm proctor here. I'm sure Mei told you that you would see me if you were here," I replied. They all nodded their heads. "If you have any trouble, go tell my team that I sent you. They're one of the rookies over there making noise."

"Thank you. You are very kind, despite what your reputation holds," the bandaged boy replied. I could see no malice or ill-intent in their eyes. They were actually just scared little kids. I smiled at them before heading to the front of the room with Sai and Soubi.

"Do you think it wise to help them? They are from another village," Sai asked me. I looked to him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"They were scared. I hate seeing scared little kids."

Just then I saw some movement. Looks like they were heading towards my team. Quickly teleporting in front of them, I took Arawn off my back. Two Nin from what looked like Sound were going at that loud mouth Kabuto. One was in the air and threw two kunai at him. Quickly teleporting to the kunai I grabbed them and redirected them back at the Nin who threw them. They went at him and stuck him to the ceiling by his sleeves. The other Nin was going towards Kabuto with a fist, but his arm had a type of armor with holes in it. Teleporting to his side, I kicked him into the wall fifteen feet away.

"I do not tolerate fighting before the exams. You will have plenty of time to maim later," I hissed, Sai and Soubi coming to my side. There was a large puff of smoke in the front of the room.

"Shut up you baby faced degenerates. The exam is to begin. My name is Ibiki Morino and from now on, your worst nightmare," Ibiki screamed. I quickly grabbing Sai, we teleported to his side and stared at the scared kids. "You from the Sound Village. What do you think you are doing? There is to be no fighting, do you want to be failed before we even start?"

"Don't worry Ibiki, I took care of it," I said as the Sound Nin got themselves together. The one I kicked into the wall was now glaring at me, while his teammate fell to the ground.

"Morrigan. What are you doing here? This is my stage of the exam," he said slightly angry, more amused.

"I just wanted to see the squirts. And let me tell you, these kids don't look like any of them will make it to my round." Everyone in the room looked shocked at me except for my team, Mist, and Gaara's team. I put on a psychotic grin and yelled to them, "My name is Morrigan. I have the pleasure of being the proctor of the third part of the exams. Of course I don't see any of you actually passing this round."

"Listen up because I'm only going to tell you once. There will be no fighting between contestants without the permission of your proctor. Even at that, the use of fatal force is prohibited. If you cross any of us, you will be disqualified immediately," Ibiki yelled, with a scary look. I laughed a terrifying laugh and nodded to him. Grabbing Sai, we teleported home.

"Well that was really fun, don't you think?"

"I think you just like scaring people."

"Yep, I sure do."

* * *

It was probably three hours into the second stage for my team and the sun was still high in the sky. I was in the kitchen making onigiri with Sai. Maybe later I could go and play my violin. Sai had said earlier that he wanted to sketch the moon tonight. Looking out the window I had to admit that tonight would definitely be a beautiful night.

"_Soubi! Arawn!"_ I yelled mentally. The wolves had wanted to accompany the kids to the second part of the exam. Really they just wanted to see who would pass or fail. They had been hanging with Anko since the start of the exam.

"_Morrigan, something is wrong,"_ Arawn replied. I froze, my hands dropping the ball I was forming.

"_What is it?"_ I asked.

"_There are three Nin from Grass that were found killed. Their faces were burned off. Anko is checking them right now,"_ Soubi told me. I got a mental picture of three Nin all with their faces melted off. I shuddered and put the rice in the refrigerator.

"_I'll be there right now,"_ I said. Grabbing Sai who was quietly putting salmon in some onigiri, I looked at him with worried eyes.

"Something's wrong. We need to head to the forest of death. This is really bad, I can feel it," I told him. He raised his eyebrows and stopped his making of rice balls. I put the stuff into the fridge and grabbed Sai to teleport to the wolves. They sent me a mental picture of where they were and in a second we were in front of a Buddha statue next to Anko.

"What happened Anko?" I asked her.

"I need you three to go tell what happened to Hokage-sama. Then get some squads of ANBU in the forest and look for the deceased Grass Nin. I'm going in," she ordered. The three Nin who were with us disappeared and she turned to me, "It's Orochimaru."

"Sai and I are coming with you Anko," I told her. She opened her mouth to tell me no, but with a low growl from my wolves' throats she closed it. Then I felt it, the pull of my ring.

"Sai, you are I are going to the kids now," I said grabbing his right arm. I made Arawn into weapon mode and held him in my right hand, gripping Sai with my left. Then I pulled on the seal and we were in the forest of death. In front of us was a Grass Nin standing on a large snake summon. Naruto plunged to the forest ground. Sai went over to go help Naruto, but was stopped by the three Sound Nin.

"I told the old man I should kill you before you got here," I told the Grass Nin riding the snake. It was a girl with long black hair and plain gray garbs with black shinobi pants. They had a purple obi and their smell resembled that of the scent patch the old man gave me, but not enough for my nose to catch it earlier.

"Who are you?" the woman asked. I looked at her and Soubi began to growl. I turned quickly to find Sasuke and Sakura behind me. Sasuke looked like his hand and lower arm was burned by the Chidori. They had been fighting for a long time before I showed up. Smiling slightly at Sakura, I caught a glimpse of Sai and Naruto taking on the Sound Nin.

"I am Konoha's huntress and I am here to exterminate you," I said turning to him then grinning psychotically. I teleported to his side swinging Arawn and whispered, "Orochimaru."

I left Soubi to guard Sasuke and Sakura. Hoping Sai could take care of the Sound Nin quickly, I dodged as the Snake bastard raised his arms and snakes flew out. Coating myself with blue fire just in case, I teleported behind him. I swung my scythe once again only to make contact. I clenched my jaw as the Snake man crumbled to the ground as snakes.

The large snake, no longer feeling its master on it, started to flail. Quickly moving chakra to my feet I held onto the large snake. Pulling Arawn back in I made handsigns and called my blue fire blade. With the sudden switch in chakra, I lost my footing and was sailing in the air. Looking behind, I quickly catapulted off the tree I came into contact with, and flew towards the snake. I put my arm out and when I hit the snake, sunk the limb completely into its skull.

The snake disappeared and so did where I was standing. Falling to the forest ground, kunai rained down on me from the right. Looking I found Orochimaru high and to the right of me. He finished handsigns and then spit a wave of boiling water at me. Quickly teleporting to a safe distance from him, I called Arawn out. Orochimaru met me with a kunai and I noticed he let his face change to the one in the picture I had received from the old man. His hitai-ate now showed that of Sound and I realized the Sound Nin were his subordinates. His yellow slit eyes were glaring at me, but he had a sadistic grin on his face. Growling at him I kicked his side. The clone immediately burst into snakes.

Standing on the branch I waited for him to come at me, just to feel Soubi go down. I called him into me and saw Sasuke battling another Orochimaru. Giving a battle cry I teleported to them and put Sasuke behind me. I went to work deflecting his attacks, but some got through and I was bleeding. Trying to think of what I should do I coated my body in blue fire and swung Arawn viciously. Orochimaru faltered, but I was soon left with a log. Damn that Snake man was good.

I looked down for a second to see that Sai was carrying Naruto, but both were okay. When I turned back, Orochimaru had his hands together and my body was paralyzed.

"Temporary Paralysis Jutsu?" I asked. With Orochimaru's smirk I knew it was true. "That's real fucking cheap, you know."

"Ah, but I want you to watch as I mark your precious little Sasuke. You seem to be quite protective of these kids," he said. I was already working to release my bonds, but I found I couldn't teleport. When he got close enough, I would let Soubi out to get him away. But at the same time I had to make it the right moment or else he would counter and Soubi would be paralyzed. When Orochimaru was ten feet away from Sasuke, he bared his snaky fangs. I struggled even more and let Soubi out. But Orochimaru's head detached from his body, quickly went to Sasuke and I knew it was too late. Just as his fangs were about to touch Sasuke's neck, Sakura pushed him out of the way.

"Noooo," I screamed as the fangs dug into Sakura. In a second, a seal appeared at Sakura's neck. She collapsed and Sasuke tried to kick Orochimaru away. Soubi went at him with Sasuke and he jumped from the branch we were on. The paralysis wore off and I went at the Snake Nin with Arawn. Calling blue fire to his blade, I swung and blue fire erupted from him. The Snake Nin once again substituted but I caught the smell to my right. Going to him, I saw he was flames and disappearing fast. I went at him with a closed fist and hit his face as he disappeared. I let out a frustrated sound and banged Arawn on the branch.

"Morrigan! Help there's something wrong with Sakura!" yelled Naruto. I quickly jumped to my team and saw Naruto was cradling Sakura. Sai was holding up Sasuke whose arm was completely burned and had a wound in his stomach. Naruto's chakra smelled off, and I looked to Sakura. She was sweating heavily and her eyes fluttered as she lost consciousness. She let out whimpers and face grimaced in pain.

"Let me see the seal," I told Naruto. He quickly flipped her to the side and I saw the three tomoe. We need to get her to Jiraiya or someone else, like Kakashi. "I don't know how to seal this one. I have to find Kakashi or Jiraiya. Naruto help Sasuke get to the hospital. Sai get Sakura, you'll go to the hospital too while I go and find someone to seal her."

I need to get them out of here quick, just in case Orochimaru comes back. We'll have to use teleportation for this trip. Soubi quickly went to Naruto and Sasuke and teleported them to the hospital. I let Arawn out and smelled around for Jiraiya or Kakashi. I found Kakashi, and let Arawn take Sai and Sakura to the hospital. I teleported out of the forest and found Kakashi not far from the training ground's gate.

"Sakura got hit with a seal. I don't know how to stop it," I told him quickly. He looked determined and I added, "It was Orochimaru."

"Take me to her," he replied. Knowing he probably couldn't teleport with me, I ran quickly to the hospital. We got there three minutes later and I ran through the white hallways. Smelling the way, I found Sakura in a private room with all the boys around her. She was laying on her back, but I couldn't see her face. Sasuke was in the way and looked like he was shaking with pain.

"I found him. So move and we can get started," I told them. When I noticed they didn't move I felt my anger rise up. "Guys move so we can save her!"

"Morrigan," Kakashi said gently. Why was his voice so soft and sad? He should be jumping to save Sakura. I looked at his face to see sadness and wondered why he was sad. Going to Sakura, I saw that Naruto was crying. Sasuke was crying also and his body was wracked with sobs.

"What?" I asked aloud. Looking at Sakura's face I noticed it was peaceful, but still. Her body wasn't moving. No. no, she isn't dead. I just saw her and she was still alive. She was in pain and moving, but she was alive.

Naruto started to cry louder and buried his face into Sakura's stomach. Sasuke was sobbing while he gently stroked her hair with a shaking hand. I took a step back. She can't be dead. She couldn't die. Death wasn't supposed to take her. She was supposed to be alright. I promised her she would be alright.

Kakashi went to the foot of the bed and looked at his student with a blank face. I looked to Sakura's face and took another step back. Suddenly a hand clutched my right arm. I looked at the hand for many seconds, detached. She can't be dead. I told her that if she tried everything would work out. She was going to be fine.

"This isn't supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen. I told her that if she called me I would keep her safe. I told her she would be okay. This isn't okay. This isn't alright!" I yelled. Backing up, and shaking the pale hand away, I felt the wolves come up to me.

"_Shhhh, it's okay,"_ Soubi chanted to me.

"_Calm down,"_ Arawn ordered a little concerned.

"I can't! Everything is not okay!" I yelled mentally and physically. Kakashi looked to me with a blank face and I could see he wanted to escape. He probably couldn't stand the pain. Everyone around him died, and he wanted to plunge himself into emotionlessness.

"Morrigan," a voice said. I looked and saw Sai reach for my arm again. I took a step back, and looked to Kakashi who was leaving.

"You can't leave them. Even though some have died, you have to stay here for the boys. I-I-I can't right now, so you have to Kakashi. They are **alive** and **need** you," I ordered. He looked at me blankly, but his eyes got ever so slightly clearer. He nodded and I turned to Sai, "Protect them. I didn't do a good job, maybe you can for a while. I'll be back in a-in a little bit."

"Morrigan, they need you also. We need you," Sai said in a voice I recognized as pleading. I looked to Sakura's body and shook my head. I can't stay here. I have to leave. This is all wrong. This can't be happening. Calling Arawn into me, I left Soubi with them. Teleporting to the world between worlds I was welcomed with white nothingness. Going to the white couch, I turned it red with blood flowing from my wounds.

I took off my mask and stared at the white walls, waiting. I waited in the white room, until I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. But I fought it and I waited some more. I waited for answers. I waited for answers which would never come, because there were none.

* * *

**So I kinda killed Sakura. That's what I get for listening to sad songs. Bad me, bad bad me. Remember to Follow, Fave, Review, Obsess. Loves yous guys. (I do not own Naruto but I do own Morrigan)**


	22. People Say the Darndest Things

"**The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."**

― **Gloria Steinem**

"**Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."**

― **Aristotle**

* * *

"Morrigan," called a voice. Where is that coming from? I only see darkness. The darkness doesn't want to me to leave. But then again, that voice is so familiar, I feel like I should answer it.

"Morrigan," the voice called again. It sounds like it's getting very desperate. Maybe I was someone important to this person. Maybe I should go to them.

"Answer me," the voice ordered. Somehow that voice got even more desperate. I have to go to them. I have to leave. I have to leave. I have to….

"Leave. I have to leave," I repeated the mantra as my vision blurred. There was tan and white. A lot of white.

Slowly my vision straightened out and I saw Boss. He had a look of pure terror and fear on his face. Seeing this look, I quickly got up and looked for the enemy, calling Arawn in weapon mode. With the sudden movement, I fell but was quickly caught by Boss. I felt nauseous and my brain felt like a needle was being put through it. Arawn disappeared and I covered my mouth. Boss quickly teleported to the bathroom and I barely made it in time to hurl into the toilet. I threw up what felt like all my internal organs and then some more. As I finished the shaking started.

"Morrigan, what happened to you?" Boss asked. "You were just sitting there like you were dead. You stopped breathing and your heart stopped. Why are you even here?"

I tried to stand, pulling myself up with the sink. Standing before the sink and mirror, I made sure I could stand without falling. When I felt secure, I turned the water on and went to take my mask off. It was gone, so I went and washed my face. The shaking in my body didn't get any better as I recalled what happened.

"I couldn't save her. I have so much power. I have all this power, and yet it's never enough. No matter how much I train, the fact is that I can't protect them," I said, detached.

Boss looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. I masked my face to be the same blank face I used to have. Looking at the girl in the mirror, I recognized her from three years ago in Oregon. I teleported out of the bathroom and sat on the couch. It was bloody from laying on it and not healing quickly enough. How long had I been here? My body was still quivering and I ran a shaky hand through my hair.

"Morrigan, you forget that people have to die. Just because you are with them, doesn't mean that they can live forever also," Boss said to me. He came around and kneeled in front of me like a father. I could feel my blank façade slowly slipping away.

"It wasn't her time. She still had things to do, dreams to fulfill," I said quietly, but with rage. Images of Sakura's peaceful face came into my mind. The shaking got worse.

"You can't say that. You're only a—"

"I'm only a fucking Shinigami! I am the angel of death, I should decide who dies and when," I burst out. Realizing the shaking wasn't from sickness of being inside myself, but from pure rage. I was pissed that Sakura died. I was pissed at whoever took her from me.

"We can't do that. We only take care of them when they do die or keep the world in balance. Fate is the one who decides," Boss said angrily.

"Well he fucked up!" I yelled into Boss's face. "It wasn't her time. She still was young. Her dreams were all coming together. I told her she could do it. I told her she would be alright!"

"Ah, I see what is now," Boss said in an understanding tone. "You are angry at yourself."

"I beg your pardon?" I asked still angry. My hands were clenched into fists and I had my mouth closed tightly.

"You told her she would be alright, but in your mind she isn't. You failed to keep her safe therefore you are angry at yourself," Boss said. I remained quiet realizing his words were exactly right. "It is not your fault Morrigan. There is nothing you could do. It was merely her time and she would have died a different way even if you protected her."

I was so disappointed in myself. Sakura had the ring, because she was the weakest and I told her that I didn't want them hurt. She was the one I should have protected the most. She was so fragile, and weak. I had told her she would be alright, but I lied. But like Boss said, I could do nothing. The Fate handles who dies when. We just handle where to take them after that, or keep the world in balance. To think that Sakura made the decisions that led her death to be that moment.

You see, each person makes their own death. Their choices influence what happens to them and when their time will come. Fate is fair. You get what you deserve. I guess Sakura lived out her life, and because she chose to sacrifice herself, her life was fulfilled. No one gets the wrong Fate. But it didn't make it any better in my mind. Sakura was still dead, and I had still failed to protect her. But I could never protect her. I wouldn't ever be able to protect someone fully, because their time will come when it comes. I could never prevent what Fate did.

"Why do people die?" I asked. I guess for a Shinigami it might be a dumb question, but I had the right to know. I had never asked before because I wasn't concerned with death. I would never die, after all. Unless the people I were protecting were immortal, I would never be able to protect them from Fate.

"Because what would life be like without death? Night without day? Black without white?" Boss asked.

"You're saying it's inevitable," I replied not really understanding.

"No, I'm saying that it's natural. Without one you could never truly have the other. Fate will never know what death is truly like because it never experienced life. Those gods who always just existed, will never know what existing like us is like because they were never not existing. Everything is all about the balance. That is why you work as a balancer, because without that balance the world will never truly exist."

"That's just confusing."

"You can never understand what I'm saying because you aren't a full Shinigami. You're still an immortal human. If you were one of us, you would know all this because of who you were."

"No wonder Arash was so good at philosophical discussions."

There was a long silence which ensued and left me to my thoughts. I still hated myself for Sakura's death. I guess I would never really get over it, but I know that I could never have saved her. That made me angry at Fate but Fate only cut her life off because she chose to save Sasuke. She chose to save him and indirectly end herself. But again if I was strong enough to protect them all, she wouldn't have had to save Sasuke. So I really killed her, because I was weak.

"Morrigan, why are you here?" Boss asked. I looked at him from across the room. He had moved and was sitting on a white couch on the other side of the rug.

"I couldn't stay there," I answered quickly. "I couldn't stay there because I couldn't believe I let her die."

"So you left the others you have to protect there to fend for themselves?" he asked. I quietly admitted to his statement, nodding my head. "Sometimes you have no sense."

"What?"

"You have to go back to them. You are probably the only one strong enough to protect them right now. They're mortals, and they won't recover from death as quickly as you do. You know what lies on the other side. You know what happens after a person takes their last breath. They don't know. They probably think she will never live again or that she will just cease to exist."

"Was she an old soul?"

"Yes. She will be fine. I escorted her to reincarnation myself." I looked at Boss with wide eyes. Why didn't he tell me that before? He looked at me with a slight smile and said, "I would have never guessed you would be here. Here I thought you would be fine because you know that she wouldn't stop existing."

Thinking back to Sakura, I was somewhat relieved but I still hated myself. Somehow knowing that Sakura was an old soul made me feel better. She gave her life to protect Sasuke, but she would live again. I may have killed her, but she most certainly didn't die. Smiling lightly, I remembered Sai's voice. He pleaded with me to stay. I felt my eyes turn wide as I realized he has probably never felt the emotions dealt with when someone loses a loved one. He was almost as close to my team as I was. Sakura was his friend. He's never lost a friend before and I just left him. I abandoned him, just like he abandoned me after I was an emotional wreck when he saw my face.

"I have to go back," I said. I got up and grabbed my mask which sat on the other side of the couch. Putting it on, I was ready to teleport. I felt for Soubi, but found he was asleep. Damn, I couldn't teleport straight to the boys.

"Go to them Morrigan. They need you," Boss said. I nodded and teleported to the hospital room that had Sakura. Arriving, it was empty, but I smelled my way through the hospital to the boys. They placed everyone in a large room together. Going past countless nurses, I began to run to the boys. The windows that lined the halls showed the dark night outside. I was gone for such a long time.

Coming to the room that held all the boys, I stood before the door. Fear of them being angry with me rose up within me. No, I need to be strong for them. Placing my hand on the doorknob and turning slowly, I walked into the pitch black room. On the left side were two beds. Sasuke was sleeping in one with Kakashi next to him on a chair. The bed closer to the window held Soubi and Naruto. Both boys were wrapped in bandages. Naruto had bandages on his neck and forehead, while Sasuke had his arm wrapped completely.

"Morrigan?" a sleepy voice asked me. I looked to the right and found one bed there. Sai had his bed up for him to sleep sitting up. He was looking to the door with eyes squinted. I crossed over to him and found he was bandaged completely also. Why hadn't I seen these wounds before? I was that busy with Orochimaru and Sakura that I didn't notice their wounds?

"It's only me. Go back to sleep," I told him sitting in the chair next to his bed. He looked at me in the darkness and had a child's scared face. His eyes were tearing up and I quickly stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong Sai? It's okay. Everything is alright now."

"Sakura," he choked out beginning to sob quietly. He was so different from the Sai I first met, I noted lightly. Getting on the bed fully, I nervously put my hand behind his back. Pulling him to me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. In a second I was sitting on his lap with him crying into my neck soundlessly.

"Shh. It's alright. Everything is fine. Everything is going to be alright now. I'm right here," I cooed to him, quietly. I would normally not even think about willingly initiate a hug. I never allow people to touch me without me or them being emotionally compromised. Sai needed this. After a couple of minutes Sai began to loosen his grip, and I apologized, "I'm sorry I left you. I shouldn't have done that. You told me you guys needed me, but I left. It was wrong."

"Please don't leave me again," he said in the voice of a child. I looked into his face and realized I could never leave him. We were too attached to ever be separated again. We needed each other just like we needed water or air. He understood me too well and always made a true smile come to my face. I taught him to be human and without me, he wouldn't know what to do.

"I won't leave you. Ever," I promised, blushing and giving him a small smile.

Thank kami that he couldn't see my red face. I looked down and realized I was still in his lap. Going to get off, Sai pulled me back to him. In the next moment, were facing the same direction with me in between his legs. My back was to his chest and he curled his arms around my stomach. Blushing even harder, I looked to Sai's face over my shoulder. Emotions ran across his face in a flash. First was the fear from before, then it was the pleading look, then a slight happy, and then it finally settled into the serious expression I had yet to place.

"Sai. I don't think we should sit like this," I said to him in shocked whisper. He looked down with a confused look.

"But I want to make sure you don't leave again," he replied in a child's voice. The voice contrasted wildly with the serious expression. My blush deepened twelve times and I turned around.

"People might get the wrong idea," I muttered not looking at him. His response was tightening his arms around me. I sighed knowing he wasn't going to let go any time soon. "Fine. But you get to fucking explain this to the nurses and everyone else in the room later."

"That is fine." I huffed and tried to make myself comfortable. I found the blanket of the bed at my feet and decided to cover ourselves with it. Snuggling into Sai's chest I heard him hiss in pain. I'm glad he's in pain. This will be so awkward to explain to everyone.

"Morrigan. Stop it," came his serious whisper and I stopped moving.

Looking at the bed again and looking at my hands, I wondered where to place them. I couldn't just put them on Sai's legs, but my legs would get too hot then. This is so awkward, I mentally screamed. I could hear Arawn chuckling in the background. Trying to find a place for my hands I settled for on top of his. His hands opened and he stole my thumbs. So there we sat sitting up in a hospital bed, back to chest with him holding my thumbs slightly in his. He was warm, but not disgustingly so and I realized that this wasn't so bad. It was comforting to feel his protective hold around me. It made my chest feel warm and I tried to find the right words to describe this new emotion.

"Goodnight," I pouted. I could feel Sai's chuckle rumble through my back before closing my eyes. Immediately I fell asleep, in Sai's gentle hold.

* * *

"Wake her up. I need to talk to her about what happened in the forest." The voice belonged to a woman and she seemed angry. In my sleepy haze I felt arms tighten around my stomach.

"But she was wounded and tired. She should rest. I can tell you what happened in the forest. No need to wake her." This voice was male and I felt a smile come to my face. Suddenly my whole body went cold, like a blanket was taken from me. My legs were exposed and began to get goose bumps.

"You weren't the one fighting Orochimaru. She's the only one who can answer. Besides someone has to tell Sakura's parents that she died. Kakashi is in no shape to do anything and I'm not going to make those two boys do it." I could feel the arms around me pull me closer and my eyes started fluttering open. I was so tired and the arms were so soothing.

"I will do it. You can talk to Morrigan later. Let her sleep. She was very close to Sakura, and this has affected her greatly." I made my eyes open and was met with afternoon sunlight. Looking at the foot of the bed I saw Anko. She had an angry look and clutched the blanket that had been covering us. Sai's arms were wrapped completely around me in a protective fashion.

"It's okay Sai. I have to tell them. She was mine to protect," I told him. Looking up at him, he had a worried expression on his pale face. Being this close to his face I noticed a slight layer of baby fat. We were all so young, and I often forgot that.

"But—" he began, only to be cut off by me.

"I'll be fine. This will only take a little bit. You have to watch over the boys and Kakashi. They're all taking this very hard and I would rather you be here when they wake up," I whispered to him. It was a miracle Anko hadn't woken up anyone else in the room. I quickly glanced and saw that they were all indeed asleep. Sasuke's face was in a grim line and he shook every now and them. I could only imagine what they're dreaming about.

"You will come back," Sai ordered. That was probably the real reason he didn't want to me to leave him here. He thought I would leave him like before. Looking at his face with a small but reassuring smile, I wiggled out of his arms. When I got out of the bed, I turned over my shoulder and whispered only for him my promise.

"Always." Putting on a slightly disapproving face, I turned to Anko. She stood at the doorway, having moved during my conversation. I walked past her and out the door. Heading to the entrance, Anko finally caught up and broke the silence.

"Did you injure Orochimaru?" she asked in an angry tone. I stopped outside the hospital and turned to glare at her.

"No. The coward left before I could kill him."

"So not even the Hokage's precious Huntress could get him," she muttered under her breath. I clenched my hands and willed to control this rage.

"I didn't even see you in the area. What, did you get fucking lost in your own forest?" I asked. She glared at me and we stood still for several moments. I won't back down to her. She wouldn't even be half what Orochimaru is. Besides I had kids to protect and would have followed otherwise.

"Did he have any abilities or anything out of what the report read?" she asked, conceding to me. I growled at the look of indignation on her face.

"No. Pretty standard snakes and shit. He put a curse mark on Sakura, and she couldn't handle it," I said, feeling my anger replaced with slight sadness. Thinking I put the glare back on and blurted, "He smelled different."

"Smelled different?" she asked.

"Yah, like it was him underneath it all, but he was changed. The body had a different smell to it than the one the Hokage gave me earlier." I could feel the anger being replaced with confusion. Wringing my hands gently, I noticed the seals were trembling. Taking deep breaths, I turned away from Anko and started to walk to Sakura's house. Her parents were probably home. I slept so late, it's probably three o'clock already.

"Well couldn't it have just been that he stole the face of the Grass Nin?" she asked jogging to keep up with me. Not even turning to her I continued to walk. Sakura lived on the other side of the village and I had to get there before dark. I wouldn't want to tell her parents too late.

"I don't think that's the case. I smelled the Grass Nin when I went to you, but Orochimaru's smell was completely different. I don't even think that I would be able to tell if he entered the village again. I caught his new smell, but if it changes again I'll be lost." I looked to Anko who had a very worried expression. Her anger faded just like mine, and now she's thinking of what to do next.

"I'll tell the Hokage what you told me," she replied. I shook my head.

"No. You have to go deal with your stage. Mine isn't for another two days. I'll go tell him." Anko looked at me surprised and then nodded. She ran off a second later and I teleported to Sakura's house.

Standing before the quaint house I looked at the window. You could see Sakura's parents bickering about something. They were always fighting over the smallest things. I smiled lightly remembering how Sakura used to hate when they fought in front of me. She said that I was guest, and I shouldn't be subjected to their fights. I really didn't care and found them honest in their love. The smile fell off my face as I thought about what this would do to them. They will hate me. They would never look at me again. I told them I would keep her safe and I failed.

"_You have to tell them,"_ Arawn said calmly.

"_I wish I could have protected her. It's all my fault,"_ I told him.

"_You know that it was her choice to sacrifice herself. You would have never gotten there in time to save Sasuke. Besides she lives on,"_ Arawn replied. I shook my head and bit my lower lip to keep from breaking down.

"But she won't be our Sakura. Her parents will still deal with the loss of their daughter. I killed her. She'll live on, but I killed our Sakura," I said aloud. Going to the front door, I knocked gently. A moment too soon, Sakura's mother opened the door and smiled down at me. I didn't return it. Only placing a reluctant look on my face. She immediately put on a serious expression.

"Morrigan?" she asked. Her blond bang hanging between her green eyes. Her eyes were so much like Sakura's. "What happened?"

"Who is it Mebuki?" Sakura's father asked. His pink hair was shaped like a cherry blossom as his head popped into the doorway. His smile vanished as he saw my reluctant look.

"_I don't think I can do this,"_ I told Arawn.

"_You must,"_ he ordered. I looked at Sakura's parents and then ran a hand through my hair. It was dirty and I was still covered in the blood from my fight. I probably looked like I was about to die on their porch.

"What is it Morrigan? You can tell us," Sakura' mother coaxed. She was using that motherly tone I took on with the boys and it nearly broke my heart. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I was them. If one of the boys died, I would give myself to the darkness. I wouldn't even fight to stay alive.

"It's okay," Sakura's father told me. They both stood in the doorway now and I gathered all my courage.

"I couldn't save her," I said quietly. Looking at their faces, I saw confusion and then realization. Then came the worst part, the pain. They just learned their only daughter died. She died at the tender age of twelve.

"No," her mother muttered. The woman stumbled back into her husband's arms. He looked at me, his face pleading for me to take it back.

"I am sorry for your loss. She died protecting her team. It was a valiant death," I told them. Returning my lip between my teeth, I bit so hard I drew blood.

"You said you would protect her. She said you gave her a safety precaution. You told us you would keep her safe," her father pleaded. He was holding his wife up with tears flowing from both of their eyes.

"You liar. Don't you dare say that she died a **valiant** death! If you had done your job, she wouldn't have died!" her mother yelled. Her anger rose to the surface then faded into painful cries. Looking to the man, he could tell I was in pain also.

"I am sorry. It's all my fault, and I take full responsibility for her death," I told them. Sakura's father shook his head in disapproval. His face told me that it wasn't my fault. I continued to bite my lip as Sakura's mother cursed me.

"You monster! How dare you say you're sorry. You probably don't even care. Get off of my porch you damned lying monster!" she screamed between wails. I flinched when the woman shook her husband off and slammed the door in my face. Staring at the door, I tried to forget the woman's words. But they kept coming to the front of my mind. They kept replaying and replaying.

"_We should leave,"_ Arawn instructed. You damned lying monster, my mind screamed. My mind was a jumbled mess_. "Go to the Hokage and tell him to get a report from Anko. You are in no condition for debriefing him." _

"_Okay,"_ I said through my haze. Before I could teleport though, Arawn stopped me.

"_Actually, just go to Sai and rest. Let me out and I'll deliver the message,"_ he said. I didn't really object and let him out in wolf form. I stood there staring at the door until Arawn pushed my legs to move. _"Take a shower at home first, then go to Sai. He'll help you. Get some rest. Tell him what happened after you sleep. Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

"_Yes,"_ I replied automatically. Arawn left a moment later and I was just staring at the street.

I need to go home and take a shower. Teleporting home, I went to my room and took my shower. I don't even know how long I was in there, but my skin was blistering red and the sky was orange. Dressing, I decided to bandage my face and chest. The wounds that had been caused by Orochimaru were already healed. Then I found a black t-shirt and some cheer shorts a blood red color. I left everything of importance on my bed: weapons, hitai-ate, jacket, and my mask. I don't need them.

What was I supposed to do next? You monster, my mind screamed. No. That's not it. I have to go somewhere. You liar, my mind screamed back. Sai. I have to go to Sai. Teleporting to Sai, I found myself in the hospital room. Looking to the left, I found the boys were still fast asleep. Kakashi was awake and looked back at me with one sad eye.

"What happened Morrigan?" he asked after taking in my appearance. I looked back at him with a blank look, all the while my mind screaming at me.

"I told Sakura's parents." Turning away from him I looked to the other side of the room. Sai was looking at me curiously. Going to the boy, I took the blanket off of him. I climbed into the bed and sat between his legs.

"Something else happened. What aren't you telling us?" Sai asked. He put his arms around my waist and I leaned back into him. Somehow, being with Sai, my mind started to clear. Maybe it was because he was so close and the contact was making my mind think of just him. Or maybe it was because Sai could always tell when I wasn't telling him the whole truth. I covered us with the blanket and looked across the room. Kakashi looked at us with a confused look. I sighed and could feel the darkness of my mind receding. Sai tightened his grip on me to let me know he wanted an answer. I closed my eyes.

"People say the darndest things sometimes. Especially when you tell them someone died," I said in a sad and small voice. I could feel Sai stiffen in uncertainty. He probably has never told anyone that their loved one died. For me this is first time also. Kakashi probably had to tell other people, so he knows what I mean.

"What did they tell you?" Kakashi asked from across the room. I stayed silent, not really wanting to tell them what happened.

"Her mother called me a liar and a monster," I replied. I could feel the tension in the air thicken. No one really wanting to break the silence. Sai's arms tightened around me and he brought me closer to him.

"I have told you before you are not a monster," he whispered to me. I opened one eye and looked across the room to Kakashi.

"You are not a liar and are not a monster," Kakashi told me. I shook my head, and heard the hateful words once again invading my mind.

"I lied. I said I would keep her safe and I didn't. Liars are nothing but monsters," I said. Kakashi looked like he was going to argue with me, but Sai shook his head. Sai knew nothing would get through to me when I was like this. He knew how stubborn I could be. But he also knew that if he said I wasn't a monster I would probably believe him.

"You did keep her safe. She chose to save Sasuke. There was nothing you could have done to change her mind. The promise was kept, therefore you are no monster. Besides," Sai lowered his voice and whispered into my ear, sending chills through my body, "you are beautiful."

The voices in my head was replaced with one single voice. Sai's words rang through my head and calmed me down. With a slight blush on my face I couldn't help but be self-conscious. Whenever he tells me things like this, my chest flutters a little bit. He makes me so happy with so little effort. I don't even think he knows what he is doing to me. I could feel that serious expression on his face while he stared at me from behind and I blushed harder.

"Where do you even come up with this stuff Sai?" I asked with a slight smile on my face. Sai pulled me close and I could feel the rumble of his laugh. All the bad things were forgotten in his arms. I forgot for the moment that Sakura was killed indirectly by my hands. I forgot about her mother's angry words. I forgot about everything else. All that remained was happiness and us.

"Hinata-san gave me a book to read. It's called Tokiwa," he replied. Kakashi stared at the boy in surprise. Tokiwa? That sounds awfully familiar.

"What's it—"

"It's a love story about two star-crossed shinobi," Kakashi interjected quickly. No wonder Sai started with all this lovey dovey physical contact crap. Not that I'm really complaining. But then again Sai probably thought it's just a how-to for getting along with other kunoichi. I'm going to have to explain that we shouldn't really do this because he isn't my lover. I don't even think he finds me mildly attractive. He probably tells me I'm beautiful because the character in the book says that to the girl, not because he thinks I am. But why does that make me sort of sad?

"Yes," Sai replied. I turned around, much to Sai's displeasure and smiled reassuringly at him.

"Sai, you know that the book is about two lovers?" I asked.

"Yes." Okay so he knew what the book was saying. That was a start. I put on my teaching smile.

"What do you think we are?"

"Lovers."

"See, since we aren't lov—wait did you just say we were lovers?" I practically fainted. Sai totally thought we were lovers. Where the hell did he get that idea? I never said we were anything but friends. How long has he thought this? I swear if this is because Naruto or Sasuke told him something, I will castrate them.

"Yes," Sai replied calmly. His face gave no mistrust.

"Really?" This can't be happening. I began to blush once again. He thinks we're lovers.

"Yes. Do you see us as something else?" asked Sai with a confused look.

"Yes."

"Really? What are we then?"

"Friends." There was a long silence. Sai just frowned at my statement as I looked embarrassingly at Kakashi. The pervert was smiling at us, momentarily forgetting all of his pain. I'm glad he's getting over it slowly. If he can acknowledge that he can smile again, he can move on. Looking back at Sai he was frowning while looking at his arms wrapped around me. Realization that I totally just friend-zoned him came to me. Great, now I feel terrible and totally regret it. But if I really didn't like him I wouldn't really regret it. I would be sad that he thought this for so long, but I would want to take it back.

"I do not think we are only friends," Sai said, breaking the silence. I sighed and looked at his face.

"Why don't you think that?" I asked. If he thought it was because he told me things or because we acted strangely, that isn't enough. I don't really know much about this crap, but I know that if he thought we were lovers because we did weird things, that isn't true.

"Because I, I," Sai began, he crumpled his face trying to find the right words, "I never want you to leave. Then I feel like I should always protect you from everything. When we spar, I never really want to because I'm afraid I will hurt you. Then I always want to touch you, even in small gestures. When I do, there's this weird feeling in my chest and I, I never want to let you go."

"Oh," I replied. I looked down at my hands and tried to shuffle through all the thoughts in my head.

What the fuck do I say? He's in love with me, and just confessed everything to me. What do I do? Should I tell him that we can't because we're so young? Or maybe just tell him I don't feel that way? But I do feel like him. I depend on him way too much. He pulls me out of the darkness and I feel so safe with him. Then there's the feeling in my chest, and all that fucking blushing. I even said that we could never be separated again, because we were too attached. We act like we're married and I want him to never let me go.

"Uhuh," Kakashi muttered. I looked at him and glared at the teasing smile on his lips. The whole team probably knew for a while he was in love with me. I looked at the other beds and found the boys staring at me with wide eyes.

"How long have you guys been awake?" I asked reluctantly.

"Since, like, the beginning," Naruto replied. My jaw dropped as I couldn't believe they just heard everything. I thought they were asleep. Sai's arms retreated from my waist and I felt empty. Turning back to Sai I saw the pain of rejection on his face. I have to tell him, but not here. Looking at the boys again, I saw they were beginning to feel sorry for Sai.

Grabbing Sai's arm, I teleported to my room. We flopped on the bed in the same position we were in at the hospital. Moving so I was facing Sai on the bed, my heart was pained with his expression. It was something between kicked dog and 'I just learned my friends went on a mission without me and now I feel like a fool'. He immediately looked down and wouldn't meet my gaze.

"Sai look at me," I coaxed. He shook his head and I moved my hand to make him look at me. With my hand beneath his chin I took a deep breath. "I never said what I felt for you."

"No, but you said we were only friends," he replied. I laughed slightly at his expression and folded my hands while kneeling in front of him.

"That's because I didn't know you thought about us like that." Sai's face frowned at me and I laughed again. Placing a smile on my face I searched for the right words, "I don't know how I really feel. All I know is that I don't ever want to see you hurt. But then when you're around, I feel like I'm so exposed. You understand me when I don't even know what I mean myself."

"I feel that way too," Sai replied. His real smile was back and I found my chest pounding.

"Then when you, when you," I stuttered a little embarrassed, "hold me, I feel safe. Like, whatever happens, everything will be alright. I don't know if this is what love is supposed to feel like and I know that we are young and can't be called lovers, but this feels-"

"Right," Sai completed. I smiled brightly at him.

"Yes, this feels right," I admitted. Then I thought at what this really was, "I don't think we should do anything more than what we've been doing right now. I don't even think we should call ourselves lovers, even though our feelings are like that. Let's just say, that you are mine, and I am yours."

"You are mine," he replied grinning like a child with a new toy. I shook my head at his excitement.

"Yes and you are mine," I said back. Moving around, I got back into our normal position and was ready to teleport. But before I could Sai nuzzled his head next to mine, rubbing our cheeks together. It reminded me of when Soubi would try to cheer me up or was just so happy. I smiled and when he finished, teleported to the hospital room. It was dark and the nurses jumped when we arrived. The boys were being given some drugs and were back asleep. Kakashi was watching the moon which had risen.

"Good night Sai," I said to him closing my eyes and leaning into him. His arms tightened around me once again.

"Good night, itoshii," he replied. _Good night my beloved._

* * *

**_Yay! So if you guys haven't noticed, I'm kinda completely obsessed with Sai. Don't worry, this isn't going to be all lovey-dovey forever. Unless of course you want it to be, because I have multiple story arcs in my brain waiting to burst out. Moving on, I'm terribly sorry I haven't updated in a while. Truth is that I'm trying really hard to get good grades in school so I graduate with honors. Probably won't be that hard, but I'm trying here. Also, I'm kinda happy I killed Sakura off. Not that I hate her or anything, but I always thought that someone should die early on. Now speaking of dying, I don't know if I"m going to kill off the old man or not. Depends on how I feel that day. Eh, oh well. _**

**_So remember to Follow, Fave, Comment, Obsess. New chapter will be up like in two weeks. So yah, loves yous guys. _**


	23. My Insanity is Let Out

"**Mad Hatter: "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"**

"**Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.**

"**No, I give it up," Alice replied: "What's the answer?"**

"**I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter"**

― **Lewis Carroll, **_**Alice in Wonderland**_

"**One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside."**

― **John Lennon**

"**Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."**

― **Friedrich Nietzsche**

* * *

Coming out of my sleep I could feel the sunlight on my skin. My internal clock told me that it was already midday. My stage for the exams would be early tomorrow and I had to get ready. My body was warm and there were goosebumps on my legs from feeling Sai's legs. I could feel someone's gaze on me and I wondered if it belonged to the boys. It couldn't be, their soft snoring could be heard from the other side of the room. Must be Kakashi. Whatever, I don't care. I have to wake up and then go take a nice relaxing shower.

When I opened my eyes, they met with those of a very annoyed Jiraiya. He was sitting on the chair to my right. Then I felt Sai's arms tighten around me. A smile came to my face when I remembered his confession. It was just so sweet. Wait did I really tell him that I was his? Oh, that is just too lovey dovey. I grinned even more. No, it is the truth. I guess that Sai can accept me for who I am right now. Even though he knows I have a lot of problems, he doesn't know the main ones. But he still loves me. He loves me.

"When were you going to tell me that my student was in the hospital?" Jiraiya asked, breaking the silence. I realized I had just been smiling at nothing like a complete idiot. Cue the slightly embarrassed blush.

"As you can see, I was with him. It never crossed my mind to go get you, because I figured you would eventually come out of the red-light district to check on him. But you're only his part-time sensei and don't have to be told everything. It's not like you're related. Since when did you become his dad?" I asked angrily. My raised voice probably woke the boys and Kakashi up because the shuffling of bedding was heard a moment later. Shit. I looked up and saw it was only the wolves. The boys were still in their drugged-up sleep.

"Yah, but why is Kakashi still here? And why is Sai even here? What exactly went on in that forest?" Jiraiya whispered angrily. Turning to him, I saw his face full of concern. But there was not a hint of sadness. He didn't know Sakura died. He didn't know anything. Great, now I have to tell him the whole thing. All of the bad memories began to come to the surface again. I was relieving the pain, anxiety and guilt. My emotions are going to break me soon, I can feel it.

"I'll tell you. But not in here. I don't want to wake up the boys," I told him. Sai's arms gently receded and I turned to see him awake. He looked really tired. Smiling at him, I got off the bed and turned to Kakashi. He was awake and was rising to follow us out. We exited the room a moment later and I turned to Jiraiya.

"When did you get here?" I asked Jiraiya. The older man peered down at me with the same unhappy expression. I pouted at him, trying to lighten the dark mood and maybe alleviate my emotions.

"I got here around midnight but had to sit in that stupid chair for hours." I looked at him puzzled.

"Why did you wait so long? I didn't feel you try to wake me up."

"Sai was awake when I got here. He said for me to wait until you woke up," he told me. I subconsciously smiled. He was so good to me.

"Ah. Sai really is so…" I left off openly.

Through my emotions, I blushed when I remember that we were totally a couple. This is going to get some getting used to. For not really wanting friends when I came here, I have a lot of people to protect. But I couldn't protect Sakura, my mind reminded me and replayed that fateful hour. But Sai insists it wasn't my fault. He is the only one who stays with me when I'm like this also. Kami knows no one else would dare get near me. Sakura tried to get me to open up, and I'm somehow sad that I didn't tell her everything. But now she won't ever know, because she's dead. My emotions which had been swirling stopped all of a sudden and was replaced with anger and sadness.

Sai always stayed by me, even though I'm terrible. Maybe it would be best if I let them go. Their lives would be better without me. Now they have each other. There's no way I could just stay here with them. I was still a Shinigami, still a monster. Sakura died at my hands because I wasn't able to protect her. If she never met me, would she have died? I'm pretty sure everyone would be better if they had never met me. The real question is: do I want to leave? Then again, my happiness doesn't mean anything because I don't want them to suffer only because I'll break if I leave them. Maybe I'm already too broken to stay. The fear of all these things began to gnaw at my soul. This fear eventual will drag me from everyone I got close to and somehow in my hurt mind I was okay with that.

"What did he tell you yesterday when you left?" Kakashi asked. He smirked through the mask, but I could tell it was fake. He just didn't want to talk about Sakura's death. When I didn't answer, the smirk fell off his face and was replaced by a grim expression.

"Are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?" Jiraiya asked. He had a suspicious look on his face. Placing a scowl on my face, I shook my head.

"No. But I'll tell..." I replied only to get interrupted.

"What happened in the forest? Why are Naruto and Sasuke in critical condition and why is Sai even in the hospital?" Jiraiya blurted. Sometimes he was so damn wise, then other times he couldn't really catch the situation.

"Your old teammate got to them. Sai and I got there in time for no deadly damage to be done to the boys, but…" I stopped. The image of Sakura's face so peaceful, so still, filled my brain. I shook my head and could feel my throat close with sadness.

"Sakura protected Sasuke, but the curse seal he placed on her, she rejected it," Kakashi finished for me in a hushed whisper. His voice was so timid, you might think that Sakura would be behind us with a smile. Then of course she would hit us. But Sakura would never do that again. She was gone. Even though she was reincarnated, she was gone to us. Orochimaru took her from us. He ripped her from my bare hands.

"Did you get him Morrigan?" Jiraiya asked in an angry whisper. I shook my head.

Jiraiya got even more enraged and I was afraid he would punch through a wall. Then I got angry. He wasn't the one who had to protect them. He wasn't the one who told her everything would be alright as long as she tried. He wasn't the one who failed. It was me. I should be the one who was angry. I should be the one who was enraged. I should be the one to bring the damned snake's head back on a silver platter. I clenched my hands and could feel the rage sink into me like an evil presence.

"He'll be back. He doesn't seem like the kind to just give up on what he wants so easily. Besides, if he isn't back during the exams, I'll fucking hunt him down and make a nice pair of boots with his skin. He took my Sakura away, so I'm going to make him suffer. He'll wish he went into the nether world and demons ate his soul. I won't show him any mercy. Quite the contrary, I'll enjoy breaking his fucking bones one by one. Or maybe even de-scaling him, starting with the ones on his fucking face," I said venomously. My hands were clenched and burning. My eyes were cleared of any shadow and glowed a vivid yellow, while fangs were protruding from my mouth.

"Morrigan, calm down." I turned towards the door of the boy's room and saw Sai. He looked at me with concerned eyes while bracing himself on the door frame. I quickly rushed to him and held him up. He was really damaged and I wondered what those Sound Nin did to him.

"What just happened to you?" Jiraiya spoke up. I looked to him and Kakashi, meeting fearful and wary eyes. They were scared of my transformation. Looking to my hands, I saw the seals bleeding. They only did this when they were actually coming apart. Being tattooed into my skin, I would know when they were failing. First they would glow, then shake, then bleed, before finally breaking completely. Looking at my hands, it felt so surreal to seem them get this point. The blood went down my fingers and was starting to drip on Sai and the hospital floor.

"Calm down. We will kill him. I promise," Sai told me. The two older men were staring at me and their glares were piercing my soul. I ignored Jiraiya and Kakashi and took deep breaths. Calming down, the fangs which only presented themselves when I was in extreme rage, receded. I ran my tongue along my teeth which were now normal and sighed.

"Sorry." I looked to Jiraiya and saw that he was going to question the situation once again, but I turned. Still holding Sai up, we entered the room. "Let's get you back to bed, Sai. You should rest. I have to go help Anko at the tower. Tomorrow morning should be my stage and I want to check out the Sand Sensei."

"Are you going to tell us what that was all about?" Jiraiya asked as I went into the room. I ignored him and helped Sai back into bed. Sai covered himself with the wrinkled blanket and smiled at me. His face was tired and worn and I wondered just how much sleep he got last night. Smiling and staring into his ebony eyes, he brushed my bangs out of my face. For a few seconds we just stayed like that, staring into each other's eyes and grinning like fools. For those moments my mind was emptied and I only felt that safe feeling that I got with Sai. It was nice. Jiraiya after a very long moment chose to clear his throat. I turned to him and glared murderously.

"I'm leaving. I have to get my stuff." I called the wolves back in me, and teleported home. Going to the bathroom quickly, I cleaned the blood off my hands.

"_Are we heading to the tower now?"_ Soubi asked. He was worried that the boys were alone. He also wanted to spy on Kakashi and Jiraiya. The two perverts seeing me like that was not a good thing. Kakashi was probably telling Jiraiya that I told him how people would always be afraid of me. There would probably also be some talk of how I am still a deranged and sadistic killer.

"_Go keep an eye on the two perverts. They're most likely talking about what to do with me. If they're going to try to confront me about it or they're going to try to run me out of town, I have to tell Sai. That and we should pack."_ Soubi quickly appeared and then teleported away.

"_Do you think they would really kick us out?"_ Arawn asked in a small voice. He liked it here. He liked intimidating people, playing with the Konohamaru crew, training with the boys, and then making fun of me and Sai. Poor thing didn't want to leave.

"_We can never be certain. They trust us only as far as they can throw us. Especially now that they saw a glimpse into our darkness, they won't hesitate to tell the old man I'm bad news. Besides we are a danger to people and will always be feared." _

I wouldn't want to be thrown out. This did feel like the closest thing to home we could possibly ever have. But there were problems with who we were. I am a Shinigami who's mentally unstable with a demon inside waiting to kill everyone in its path. I had said from the beginning that the old man shouldn't have trusted me too much. I don't even fucking trust me all that much. The fact that I felt accepted here is beside the point. They never have seen this side of me before and it terrifies them.

"_But the Hokage did like us. He wouldn't have just let us in without first knowing what we were capable of." _The hope in Arawn's voice was sickening. He really thought that for a moment these people could look past what our nature was and accept us. But we could never be accepted. We're too dangerous and too different to ever be accepted.

"_No," _I replied_. "The old man sees the best in people and when there isn't anything good in there, he makes something up. He wants to save us, when the fact of the matter is, we're a hopeless cause. He never knew anything about us, but the fact that we are only twelve and was an S-ranked bounty hunter. We have bounties on our head that rivals that of the people we hunt. He just wanted to fix us. But the truth is, we can never be fixed, because we're broken into a million tiny pieces and can never be repaired." _

I let Arawn out in wolf mode and went to take my shower. Staying in the shower longer than usual, I felt it burn my skin. This could possibly be the last shower I take for a very long time. That is if the old man decides to kick me out. Wait, what about the boys and Sai? Sai just told me that he was in love with me. Do I just leave him? Yes. I have to leave him behind, just like I had though earlier. It would be the best thing for him. But I promised him that I wouldn't leave him. But in the grand scale, he would be so much safer here. I had to protect him first and foremost. Besides, he would just go on with his life. He was still young, and this love we have probably isn't real. He could never love me. The boys have each other and Sai, so they should all be fine to move on with their lives.

But what would happen to ROOT if I left? Who would make sure Danzo doesn't go bat shit crazy. But then again, I wouldn't care about that. I wouldn't be a part of this village and wouldn't need to care about its state of affairs. But what would my purpose be if I got kicked out? Wasn't our new purpose to protect this village? We can't really protect it, if they didn't want us to be a part of it. We aren't supposed to protect something that hates and fears us. Damn, just when we thought we had everything figure out, we have to change all of our plans again. We have to figure out everything again. Start from the bottom, again. We change purposes like we change fucking pants.

"_But we have forever to figure it out,"_ I could hear Arawn yell mentally from the kitchen.

"_Oh, how I look forward to all that soul searching,"_ I replied sarcastically.

My mind was filled to the brim with sad ideas that I could ever leave the boys and Sai. We were attached to this town and them as much as they were attached to us. It would hurt so much to just leave them forever. Because we would leave forever. We will still be young and beautiful when their grandkids are on their deathbeds. Maybe we should have never gotten close to them. But I was so lonely. I wanted to love the boys like children. I wanted to love Sai. I wanted to love this town. I was deluding myself to think that I could ever leave here, just like I walked in. this town would forever hold a part of me, that I could never get back.

Turning my thoughts away from everything, I felt anger and sadness build up inside me. The feeling of overwhelming emotions wouldn't leave me. But I thought about other things and the stage ahead. I got out of the shower with my hair still dripping wet. Going to my drawers, I put a scroll under the dresser. Should we have to leave, I could just activate it and send a wolf to retrieve the sealed dresser. Placing one under my bookshelf, I looked for my clothes. Do we want to go intimidating or just fucking scary?

"_Scary. I want you to jump on me like the meeting with the Sand Nin. They were so freaked out by you standing on a scythe that they almost peed themselves,"_ Arawn joked. He was currently searching the fridge for leftovers.

I went with Arawn's decision and found some very scary clothing. Choosing a blood red muscle shirt with diamond slits on the sides, I wrapped up my chest. Then I found a pair of short black shorts and paired them with fishnets. One was on my right upper thigh while the other was just on my left ankle. Checking what skirts I could wear, I found a short black pleated skirt Akane packed for me. Replacing the mask on my face, I finished the look with some black high-top converse. Checking myself in my mirror, I noticed how much skin I was actually showing. Man is everyone going to be surprised to see all the scars on my arms and legs.

"_You look very scary. Are you going to put the ROOT jacket on?"_ Arawn asked coming into the room. He had rice all over his face and I held my laughter in. Checking my closet, I held up the jacket.

"_Naw. We're going to be really provocative today."_ I threw the jacket on the bed and got my weapons pouch and hitai-ate. Tying the metal to my right arm, I threw the weapons pouch on my left. I could throw with both hands perfectly so it never really mattered what side it was on. I rechecked my mask, just to be sure it was clean and it stuck. Finally finishing my look, I admired how different I looked today before getting back to business. Summoning Arawn in weapon mode, I put him in the holster at my back.

I quickly teleported to the Forest of Death. I found myself smelling the air for any signs of Orochimaru. His lingering scent was there, but that was all it was, a lingering scent. Looking at the trees, I replayed Sakura's death over and over in my mind. It was like my memories were just stuck on a non-ending loop. Feeling myself go into the darkness, I fought it. I still had to kill Orochimaru. He still had to pay. My emotions which were bottled up, were threatening to drive me insane. Shaking the darkness and emotions off, I teleported to the tower. Anko was there immediately.

"You're early," she told me. She had a teasing smile on her face and I wondered how she could get over the appearance of Orochimaru so quickly. Looking into her eyes, I noticed they were dull. That's how. She was just putting on an act.

"Thought you might want some help. Besides I wanted to see how many you let slip by you," I told her cheekily. She frowned slightly and turned away. That bad? I walked past her and through a hidden door. From there, there were only hallways and rooms. If you got lost here, you could very well just die of starvation. Following the smell of people, I found some familiar faces.

"Hey guys," I said. There in front of me was the rest of the rookies. Choji, Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata and Shikamaru all smiled at my presence. Ino just looked very annoyed while that Aburame was Aburame silent as normal.

"Ho-How are y-yo-you Morrigan?" Hinata stuttered. I smiled largely at her and scratched the back of my head. Wait should I tell them about Sakura? She was their friend after all. If they ask what happened to my kids, I'll tell them.

"I'm fine," I replied cracking my neck. Soubi appeared a moment later. I turned to him and asked mentally, "_What's up_."

"_Kakashi and Jiraiya would not speak with me in the room about what they thought of you. They asked Sai what was wrong with you, but he refused to tell them. He told them that they should ask you what happened. They then proceeded to go to the Hokage to tell him about the incident,"_ Soubi told me mentally. I nodded my head in understanding. Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head to go play with Soubi. I watched as the two scampered away.

"Was something the matter?" Choji asked, opening a bag of chips I didn't notice before.

"Naw. He was just checking up on some things for me." Looking at the group, I felt the glare of eyes. Checking to see if it was Ino, I was surprised to see it was the bug boy. The Aburame was looking at me curiously when I felt a bug on my shoulder. Looking to him, I saw that he didn't call it back. Must be Torune summoning me.

"I have to go guys. I'll see you all at the next stage," I told them before walking away. Pulling on the seal on my back, I felt for Torune. He was in the tower, near the top. I stopped around the next corner and tapped on the wall. Immediately the black hole opened up, with the feeling of the seal on my back, and I saw Torune pacing back and forth in a room. I entered the hole and popped back on the other side.

"Morrigan-sama," Torune addressed. He immediately kneeled at my presence and I felt the bug fly towards him.

"Rise." Torune immediately stood up and I looked at him with a serious expression. "What is the information you wish to tell me."

"I was tracking the target as you asked and felt a strong pulse in chakra during the exams. At that time the boy killed three other competitors without handsigns or any movements. Are you aware with his type of jutsu?"

"Yes. Continue."

"He has once again let the chakra leak from him in large amounts. It seems he is preparing for something tonight and the killer intent washing over him is similar to one in insanity."

"Very well. Continue to monitor him from afar, I will make contact with the target now. I presume he is nearby."

"He is on the roof Morrigan-sama. I will remain close by to make certain you are not injured."

"Very well." Torune then left in a whoosh of air. I quickly made my way to the roof. The night had already come and a full moon was high in the starry sky. I looked at the stars with both amazement and disdain. They were so beautiful, but they knew where they belonged. I had no idea where I was supposed to be.

"Why are you here?" a raspy voice asked. I turned around and found the Sand demon staring at me. The killer intent was washing off of him in waves. I quirked my only visible eyebrow.

"Put a cork on the chakra leak. You aren't going to do anything tonight." I motioned for the boy to sit down, but he just continued to glare at me murderously. Shrugging, I made my way to the edge of the building and sat down, swinging my legs off the edge. A moment later, sand gathered around me. I made no move to get away.

"Aren't you afraid?" the boy asked dangerously. His voice was low and there was something about it that was different from before.

"Of who? "Of me?" I asked, playing dumb. The sand wrapped itself around my waist, threatening to break me.

"NO," he screamed, "OF ME."

"I'm not scared of you. I'm more scared of me than of anything else in this world." I answered. The sand on my waist held steady.

"Why would you be afraid of yourself? You aren't anything but a weakling," said Gaara. I caught a second voice almost echoing his. Whose voice was that? It had to be coming from him, because I can't smell anyone out here but Torune. It must be the demon inside of him. Looking up at the moon, I realized the full moon was something significant for him. Just like me, it makes it easier for the demon to come out. I sighed, my emotions threatening to spill out. Having enough of this little game I teleported behind him.

"You don't know anything about me," I said in his ear.

Teleporting away, I found myself in the forest once again. It was the exact spot that Sakura was bitten, the exact moment she was sentenced to death. All the thoughts surrounding her death came back to me and I relished in the anger. Power coursed through me and I began to feel myself turn slightly demonic. I allowed myself to turn into a glimpse of the beast I really was and I crouched down on all fours. My eyes turned even more yellow, the fangs grew out, my seals started to bleed, and my finger nails grew long and sharp.

"You don't know the slightest bit about me," I screamed in an inhuman voice. Calling Soubi to me, he prepared himself for the blood bath. Letting Arawn out in wolf form, we began to hunt like the monsters we were. We killed any forest creatures in sight. The sun had risen and blood soaked my clothing by the time we had our fill of killing. Only then did my flaming anger, uncertainty and bloodlust cease to be unbearable. Only then did I actually show how insane I truly was.

* * *

I was listening to the Hokage give his little speech from my place behind the statue. The large statue was of two hands forming the ram sign. Soubi was next to me in wolf mode. I cleaned most of the blood from my skin and his golden coat, but we stunk of it. My hands were stained a pink shade and held Arawn. The Hokage ended and there was a silence. The shuffling of people could be heard below me and I figured it was time to show myself. I teleported in front of the six teams slightly bloody with a psychotic smile.

"Hey old man. I'll take it from here." Turning to face the old man, he smiled slightly but then his face changed and he had a concerned look. He took in my bloody appearance even further and stared at my hair. Shit, I forgot to wash it didn't I? We were in such a hurry that I totally forgot about it. The wolves were really no help, they were too much in hunter mode to think straight.

"What the hell happened to you?" Anko asked aloud. She was gaping at my appearance with disgust. Iruka had that look of fear, while Kurenai, Asuma and the last Konoha sensei looked at me with a blank look. Only Patchy and the new Sand sensei were amused.

"I got bored. Just warning you now, but your forest has significantly less animals in it." Anko sputtered and I laughed as she choked. The laugh was slightly insane, and the air grew tense with my mania. I was losing it and losing it hard. My mind couldn't really handle all of this. It couldn't process the sadness and guilt from Sakura's death. Then it couldn't really handle Sai and his confession. Lastly it couldn't handle the uncertainty of our staying here.

"Morrigan if you would, continue and give me a full report after. I know the exam will be in good hands." The old man scolded me for the delay and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. He probably was going to watch in the comfort of his office with that damn crystal ball.

"Iruka, Anko. You guys can go. I'll let you know how it goes later. Jounin instructors if you would please gather behind your students I can get this shit done." There was movement and in a few seconds I was left with perfect lines of people. There were six teams total: the two rookies, the Sand siblings, the Mist kids, Kabuto's squad, and Bushy-brows and company.

"Just who are you?" asked the Sand Sensei. He was dressed in a Sand Jounin uniform with a sheet over one side of his face. He smirked and I figured he hadn't had a chance to talk to his little squad about who I was.

"Morrigan, and I will be the proctor for this part of the exam. First let me say 'yay you' for getting this far." I clapped my hands very slowly with a deranged smirk on my face. The Konoha Nin looked slightly freaked out by my personality change but Mist and Sand were taking it quite well. "Though I would have liked to not have to weed you down any further, the bitch Anko is let too many of you slip by."

"Weed us out?" Shikamaru interrupted. Naruto had told me he was one of those genius types so it didn't surprise me when he was the one who spoke up.

"Yep. We're going to have a preliminary round right now. The finals will be in three months and held in the arena. You know for all those spectators and foreign diplomats," I said waving my hand nonchalantly. The kids looked very angry at this and I laughed. Then when they continued to glare at me, I began scream at them, "Do you guys really think that being a ninja is that easy? You're tired, you're worn to the bone during missions, you go for weeks without sleep, you have close calls where you see your life pass before your eyes, and for some it actually ends right there. This test isn't supposed to be a walk in the fucking park. You have to earn it or die trying. Just like some who died back in that forest!"

"_Morrigan. Calm down, you are scaring them a little bit too much,"_ Soubi chided. I looked down at my seals to see them shaking slightly. Taking a couple deep breaths I looked back towards everyone. It was true I was being a little too harsh on them. Even the Jounin looked scared to death.

"Sorry. This whole test has really been a big buzzkill for me. I'm totally going to have to get a drink after this," I told them, rubbing my one visible eye.

"You do drink a lot," said Patchy, jokingly. I laughed and we shared a very sweet moment. One that was interrupted by a cough from Asuma.

"Alright, alright. We'll get to it. Now these are one on one battles between the ninjas chosen by random that appear on the screen. I'm warning you now, you might get killed. You might get damaged beyond repair. Hell, you might even go through some emotional trauma. If I don't want to step in and save you, I won't. I reserve the right as proctor and better than all of your asses, to step in and declare a winner."

"Isn't that a little subjective," Temari asked. She was angry that I would ever say such a thing. She thought I would just save my little friends because I wanted to. This was completely true.

"Yes, but we all know that life isn't fair. In missions, the odds might be in your favor, but they also might totally be against you. You're going to have to just hope you don't piss off the wrong people and that lady luck is on your side." The kids all stared at me like this was totally unfair, but tough shit.

"Somehow I think that the Hokage should have stayed and kept an eye on you," Asuma muttered, while lighting a cigarette.

"Don't you dare light up in here Asuma, or else I'll light you up," I said darkly. I couldn't handle that damn smoke right now. Asuma made a noise of disapproval and put the cigarette back into his pocket. "Good now that we've addressed everything, we'll get started. First up is…"

Everyone turned to the board and suddenly two names appeared: Ren and Ino. The two girls looked at me with wide eyes. Ren was the girl from the Mist team and looked excited about her match. She was dressed in the same blue shinobi outfit from the first part of the exam, but her scarf was torn on the side. Ino looked a little tired, but nothing too bad. The Yamanaka had a nasty bruise on her arm and was wearing her now dirty purple dress. I felt bad making them go at it right now, but it was required.

"Alright Ren, Ino, you guys stay down here. The rest of you scram up there," I barked. Everyone left, leaving only Ren, Ino and myself down in the arena. The two eyed each other warily. I gave them a reassuring smile. "You guys will fight until one of you is unable to continue, one of you is dead or I decide to stop the match and declare a winner. Do you understand?"

"Yes," they both replied. I raised my hand as they rounded themselves and faced one another.

"Begin," I yelled before jumping up to stand on the statue of the ram sign. Immediately the battle ensued. Maybe I should have stayed closer to them. Naw, I can just teleport to them if I need to. I could see Ren immediately make handsigns, but she was stopped by Ino. Ino charged right at her and they exchanged punches.

"_They appear to be on the same level in taijutsu,"_ Soubi noted. He was sitting below me, ready to stop them.

"_Yah, but there are other ways of defeating your opponent."_ Suddenly Ren made a clone and started back up with the handsigns. Ino was being kept busy by the illusions, and Ren finished. A thick fog seeped over the arena floor. Hiding in the Mist technique? Mei seriously sent strong competitors. That was a Chunin level jutsu to begin with. There was an eerie silence where only the clang of metal could be heard. Then just as suddenly as the mist had arrived, it left. What was left behind in the arena was Ren standing over Ino's body. I teleported to them quickly.

"Ren is the winner," I yelled and went to check Ino. She was only unconscious. Picking her up, I gave her to the medical Nin who had come to my side. He took her away and I looked up at Asuma. He had a scowl and I gave him a sympathetic smile. He looked startled at my look. Sighing at his reaction, I turned to Ren who was still standing before me. I smiled at her largely, "Good job. Mei sent her best. And thanks for not killing her."

"No problem," the young girl replied. She smiled brightly at me and returned to her team. Patchy gave her a proud smile before settling back into his trademark annoyed look. Turning around I looked at the two new names on the board: Lee and Yoroi.

"Alright you two. Get your asses down here. I'm starting to get hungry," I yelled. Lee and Kabuto's teammate quickly jumped down from the arena. The older boy had his entire face covered with almost a blue sheet. Only his eyes were seen and they immediately turned to Lee's round ones. "Well since I'm trying to get through this shit quickly, begin."

I jumped back to my post and waited for them to begin. For a second they didn't move, but then they both jumped at each other. Lee was moving quickly and Yoroi was hit a couple of times. Lee was just too fast. Suddenly Yoroi grabbed ahold of Lee. For a second, I wondered what that damn boy was doing. Lee immediately punched him away. Yoroi fell ungracefully to the floor a couple feet away. Yoroi started laughing on the floor and I wondered if he hit his head too hard on that fall.

"You didn't notice did you?" he asked Lee. Lee merely stood there for quite some time, ready for action. Yoroi continued without an answer, "I've been stealing your chakra. You have only enough to keep you alive. You can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"That's okay," Lee replied waiting for Yoroi to get up. When he got up, Lee began to run around the other, stirring the dust in the air. "I don't use ninjutsu or genjutsu."

At this I laughed. Poor Lee was fucked up but he was going to win this match. Lee stopped running around Yoroi and kicked him from below, right under his chin. They flew up into the air and Lee continue to kick Yoroi. The kicks kept coming until Lee repositioned himself below the falling Yoroi. With the bandages on his arms, he wrapped them around Yoroi. Yoroi was stunned from all the kicks and didn't make a move. Lee grabbed the now bandaged Yoroi and they were falling.

"Primary lotus," Lee yelled and the two began to spin headfirst into the ground. The speed kept building until they hit the ground, shattering the arena floor. Damn it, I hope the other contestants don't get mad at me for not fixing that. I teleported down and looked at the still body of Yoroi. I kicked him and he didn't move. Soubi came a moment later to check the boy.

"_He's dead,"_ he replied.

"Yoroi is unable to continue, seeing as how he's dead. Bushy-Brows is the winner. Lee get back with your sensei," I barked. Kid really did kill someone. I sighed and the medical team came and picked up Yoroi's lifeless body. I looked to the screen and saw the two new names: Choji and Kabuto. Great I get to see Kabuto fail again. "Choji and Kabuto, come on down."

"_This is like the price is right. I always enjoyed that show,"_ Arawn mused mentally. I almost laughed at him, but stopped myself when I noticed neither boy had come down.

"What are you guys waiting for? For me to die?" I laughed. It was funny cause I would never die.

"I forfeit," two voices yelled. I face-palmed. If only the other had held out for a little longer. That one would have won.

"Are you cowards sure?" I asked just to be clear.

"Yes, I just saw my teammate die," Kabuto yelled at the same time Choji screamed girlishly.

"Fine. Then since both of you are too much of a pansy-ass, neither goes to the next round. Instead it will be," I looked to the board and read the names, "Kiba and Temari. Get your asses down here."

"You don't have to be so bossy Morrigan," Kiba whined when he appeared beside me. Temari smirked at me with a look that said the exact same thing. I stuck my tongue out like a bratty child and rose my hand. Both ninja nodded and then faced each other.

"Begin," I yelled and teleported to my spot. I sat down this time, having the feeling it was going to be a long match. This time both competitors merely smirked at one another and I could feel their urge to trash talk rise up.

"I wouldn't really fight girls, but this is something I have to do," Kiba said cockily at Temari. She kept that damn smirk on and decided to trash talk back.

"What? You think you and your little puppy can defeat me. You're delusional." She took the large fan off her back and revealed one purple circle. Kiba put Akamaru on the floor and fed him something. Akamaru made a transformation and turned red. Temari quickly jumped a few feet away.

"_If she uses that fan with wind, she's a long-range fighter. But then Kiba is an Inuzuka and they're known for close to mid-range attacks. This is going to be interesting,"_ I mused to Soubi. The wolf below me nodded.

Kiba and Akamaru immediately went at Temari, but she merely swiped the air with her fan. The wind gust hit Kiba and he was thrown back a few feet, but got up quickly. I watched as Akamaru got on top of Kiba and transformed into him. Temari's face hardened and she revealed another circle on the fan. She swiped and the two Kibas tried to dodge. They were only nicked slightly but went back at Temari. She began to block and counter with taijutsu, closing her fan to use it as a weapon.

One of the Kibas finally found an opening and Temari was punched a few feet away. This wasn't looking too good for her. She laid on the ground but began to get up. A Kiba went to make a finishing blow, but she rolled out of the way, also barely missing the second Kiba. Temari, who clutched her fan as he fell, immediately opened her fan fully and revealed all three circles. She sent a large gush of wind to the Kibas and they were thrown back, the wind cutting them in several places. When the wind ceased, the Kibas got up slowly from their position at the wall.

"Is that the best you could do?" one of the Kibas asked. He was out of breath and was bleeding heavily from all of the cuts.

"You are a real resilient kid, I'll give you that," Temari replied. She readied herself for another swing of her fan, but the second Kiba threw a smoke bomb and they both hid. Soon the arena was filled with smoke from multiple bombs.

I could see the smoke swirling and saw through an open space, the two Kibas begin to twirl towards where the Temari was. They would hit her, that is, if she wasn't a clone. I stared at the real Temari, who floated above the smoke on her fan. She was one smart girl. The two Kibas then collided with one another, dispersing the clone. Temari floated to the other side of the smoke and glided to the ground. She readied her fan and gave a finishing blow. The smoke disappeared and revealed the two Kibas smashed into the wall. They fell to the ground a moment later.

I teleported to them and saw as the Kiba on the right turned into Akamaru. I checked their pulses quickly, revealing them to alive and pretty good. They probably only had a couple of broken bones and a bunch of minor cuts.

"Kiba and Akamaru are unable to battle, the winner is Temari," I said. Yawning, I waved my hand to Temari and she returned to her sensei. The Sand sensei looked at me with a smile of triumph. I wanted to go up there and wipe that smile off my face, but chose not to just yet. The medical Nin came and took Kiba away. Scratching my head and feeling dried blood fall like flakes, I looked to the board and saw the names: Tenten and Hinata. I smiled and knew Hinata had this one in the bag.

"Come on," I said looking up. Hinata and Tenten were in front of me the next second. Tenten's buns were only slightly messed up, but Hinata looked pristine. She must have gotten here early. They faced each other and I rose my hand, "Begin."

I teleported back to the statue just as they began. Tenten immediately jumped away, but Hinata followed her. They began to spar and Tenten's lack of taijutsu began to show. She must be a long-range fighter. If Hinata keeps going at her, she isn't going to be able to use any techniques. Hinata kept going and going, but then Tenten substituted for a rock which had been created by Lee. Hinata for a second was lost and that was all the time it took for Tenten to get two scrolls out. Looking at the scrolls, I realized they were storage scrolls. In the next second, Tenten let out a large number of weapons from them. I was ready to teleport to Hinata, but I didn't need to.

"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven," Hinata yelled and spun with chakra. She was leaking chakra out of every point in her body and made a sphere of defense. Teleporting near her Sensei, I could hear her cousin next to me.

"She never learned that. She couldn't have learned it from the family," he muttered in complete surprise.

"That's because she never learned it from you guys. She has been working on it for months, and I finally got her to leak chakra out of every tenketsu in her body a while ago. So in short, I helped her with it," I told him. He started at my sudden appearance and I continued to watch as Tenten threw weapon after weapon after weapon only to be thwarted by Hinata's ultimate defense. "If you wouldn't treat her like such an idiot or even as a fucking porcelain doll who can't do anything, you would have known that."

I watched as Tenten ran out of weapons and Hinata started her final move. It was her Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four palms, a move I was subjected to many times when sparring with Hinata. Hinata hit Tenten sixty-four times and the older girl hit the ground with a thud. I sighed and teleported down and checked her pulse. Tenten was still alive, thank Kami. Hinata wouldn't be able to deal with killing a comrade.

"Tenten is not gonna be able to go on, Hinata is the victor," I said, changing my saying up a little. Hinata smiled at me, before resuming her shy demeanor. I smiled at her and cocked my head at her sensei who was staring at us. Kurenai had heard that I taught her how to do that move, but was probably wondering how or why. Hinata left, giving me one last smile, just as the medical Nin came to take Tenten. Looking around the arena, I frowned at all the weapons I had to pick up. Letting Arawn out, he and Soubi went to work gathering all the weapons and placing them back into Tenten's scrolls.

"Fuck, that's a lot of shit," I muttered, going to help prepare the arena for the next battle.

* * *

**_Hey guys. Haven't updated in a while, but guess what! I have two new chapters back to back for you. Truth is I started and finished this chapter earlier this week, but felt kind of bad not having the rest of the Chunin exams part three done for you. So I fixed that by almost finishing the next chappie today. I'll probably upload the next chappie tomorrow. This chapter was by far one of the ones that took the most research. I had to re-do all of the battle scenes only because I want it to be made real that the story has now skewed and derailed from the tracks we all know. So here it is! Remember to follow, fave, review, obsess. I really appreciate everyone's support and criticism and would just like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Also if you have a problem with this story, tell me. I can take a good hit in the gut with the truth.  
_**

**_P.S. I don't own Naruto, or else I would have put in an SI character just to marry Sai. _**

**_P.P.S I am sorry for being completely obsessed with Sai. _**


	24. I'm Sorry I Couldn't Leave You

"**I've been accused of vulgarity. I say that's bullshit." **

― **Mel Brooks**

**It's when I'm standing six feet away from you and not being able to find the words to tell you how much I love you and how much I miss you that I want to just scream to the whole room that I'm still in love with you. It's when I'm sitting alone with the phone in my hand dialing your number and hanging up that I would trade a thousand tomorrows for just one yesterday. Then I could just call you to tell you goodnight. It's when I am really sad about something and need someone to talk to that I realize you're the only one who really knew me at all. It's when I cry myself to sleep at night and it hits me how much I would give to hold you at that very moment. It's when I think about you that I realize no one else in the world is meant for me.**

**-Unknown**

* * *

For a full five minutes I helped the wolves pick up all the different weapons. But after some time I got curious about what Patchy and the Sensei from Sand were talking about. It started out as some innocent small talk, but when there was a definite change in their facial expressions I knew they were talking about something cool. So, being the nosy little kid I was, I went and checked it out.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked them. I had teleported behind them and they turned around slowly in surprise. The Sand Sensei looked slightly disturbed while Patchy looked like he got caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

"Nothing," Patchy replied, recovering much faster than the Sand Sensei.

"Bullshit. That dude looks like he just saw death," I said, pointing my thumb at the Sand Sensei. Patchy started to sweat as I turned back to the Sand Sensei. The older man paled and I was really, really curious with what they were talking about.

"They were talking about you," said a rough voice. It was Gaara. He wore a neutral expression, while I smiled at him. I smiled only because I wanted to keep him guessing with me.

"Really? Did you say nice things Patchy? I bet that's why Sandy is terrified." Deciding to call the Sand Sensei Sandy was a good decision. He looked absolutely mortified.

"Of course. Of course," Patchy waved. I laughed and turned to Kankuro who stood behind his brother. Kankuro and I shared a devious smile and began to go along with a joke.

"He was just telling us about the legends of the Shinigami's wolf huntress," Kankuro drawled slowly. His words were truly killing the two older Senseis.

"Did he tell the one where I was supposedly a demon in disguise? I really hate that one. They always picture me as a twenty year old hooker who lures drunks and thieves to bed where I eat their soul. Totally disgusting. How would I ever get the blood stains off the sheets? I tried it once and I'm never going back," I joked. Kankuro laughed at the wink I gave him, while the older men blushed and looked terrified at the same time.

"No, they were saying how you were a shadow. The legend went that you were a young girl who was drowned by her mother for being too cruel. Shinigami-sama took pity on you and made you into a monster to hunt and kill your mother. When you went to her, you appeared in the form of a rabid wolf. From then on, Shinigami-sama makes you kill for him in return for everlasting life." Gaara looked back down at the arena floor. The wolves had finished with their cleaning and names were being chosen on the board.

"That story isn't too far off from the truth," I muttered to myself. The last part was just about spot on with me having eternal life and killing as a Shinigami. The first part was really only for dramatics, but I was killed so there was a smidgen of truth.

Jumping down from the top, I landed next to the wolves. I watched as the names were chosen while the wolves complained about me not helping them. Shrugging them off, I appeased them with bribes of food instead. So far, I had to bake a vanilla cake for Soubi and three dozen sugar cookies for Arawn. Sighing, I looked up at the board to see the new competitors: Shikamaru and Chojuro. Chojuro in his pin-stripe sweater and blue pants was shaking like a leaf.

"Okay you two, come on down here," I yelled. The two boys appeared in front of me in a second. Poor Chojuro looked like a scared little rabbit while Shikamaru looked bored as usual. "You guys ready?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said and then nodded as Chojuro gulped and nodded.

"Alright then, begin," I yelled and jumped back on top of my statue. The wolves stayed closer to the boys, slightly afraid that Chojuro might pass out from anxiety. Chojuro shakily took his sword off of his back. Looking at it closer, it appeared to be a Legendary Sword. Was Chojuro really that powerful?

Shikamaru immediately threw a kunai at Chojuro while the other boy charged. Chojuro went on the offense, still unsure of himself. Shikamaru started to defend, but I could see him making handsigns when given the opportunity. Chojuro suddenly stopped and I wondered what happened to him. Shikamaru had his hands in that damn sign of his and I noticed his shadow stretched from himself and linked to Chojuro's. Chojuro's uncertainty created an opening for Shikamaru to make his handsigns and catch him.

"I," Chojuro started, dropping his sword and raising his hand, "I forfeit."

"Chojuro forfeits, therefore Shikamaru is the winner. Get back up there both of you. Let's see who's next." I bent my head backwards from my sitting position on the statue. Watching the names go by, I mused on how easy it was for Shikamaru to win. Looking backwards, I finally saw who the next pair was: Kankuro and Shino. The boys jumped down without me calling their names and I rose my hand from my place atop the statue.

"Alright, you guys can begin," I yelled. The wolves circled the boys warily. This was going to be an interesting match. The Aburame clan always freaked me out. They could track you without you ever noticing. I knew they housed the bugs in them, but that didn't compare with the fact they could know where you were any second of any day.

I watched as Kankuro took something off of his back. It was that wrapped up thing he always carried. Shino released bugs from his arms and I watched as Kankuro twitched. The bugs probably freaked him out slightly. Kankuro then suddenly unwrapped his package and a puppet was revealed.

"You think that those little bugs of yours can hurt me?" Kankuro said cockily. The puppet's mouth began to chatter and the large puppet flew towards Shino. Shino dodged as one of the arms lengthened from the puppet with a blade. Shino dodged that knife, but only barely. Another arm lengthened and I noticed that its blade was coated in something. Poison? That was always so cheap.

Shino's bugs were now all around the arena, and I noticed they were forming a clone behind Kankuro. Shino finally countered the blades with a throw of a kunai, but only managed in stopping the puppet for a second. Meanwhile the clone finally formed behind Kankuro. This match was going to be over really quick if that clone got to him.

"Kankuro, a clone is behind you!" Temari shouted. I groaned loudly at her saving her brother. If only she let him handle it by himself. Kankuro immediately repositioned himself and his puppet. Suddenly, smoke expelled from the puppet's mouth. The smoke was so prominent that it filled the arena. Smelling it, I knew it was poison also. I quickly called the wolves in just as Shino jumped onto the second finger of the statue. He was right below me and was coughing loudly.

"His poison is a bitch huh?" I asked Shino. He didn't make a move to answer and I looked back at the arena. The smoke wasn't dissipating and I wondered if I should stop it from getting to the audience. But it began to recede through some drains at the middle, leaving the arena cleared. It revealed Kankuro who was now covered with beetles. A sound of a body hitting the ground was right below me. I looked down to see Shino passed out from the poison. I teleported to him and put him on my back. Going to Kankuro I shooed all the bugs away. Kankuro's still face was hidden under his smudged face paint.

"Both Kankuro and Shino are unable to continue, I call this battle a draw. Since if I fail both of these guys right now, there won't be enough contestants for the finals, I'll let them pass. This is on the actual merit of their actions, having successfully beaten their opponent. Even though they couldn't continue, they achieved their mission goal," I told everyone. The medical Nin came straight away and I told them to ask Sandy for an antidote to the poison.

"Well let's have the two new battlers come down here now," I barked out. I was really getting restless with this proctoring shit. Suddenly both competitors came down. It was the last Mist Nin and Kabuto's last teammate. Looking at the screen I realized the bandaged Mist Nin's name was Ichigo. Kabuto's teammate was name Misumi and he had glasses and a blue sheet over his lower face.

"Alright are you guys ready?" I asked. I realized that I really didn't ask a lot of the competitors if they were ready. Only the ones that I liked. I hope it wasn't plain to see that I was really favoring the Mist kids over Konoha Nin. Oh, well. They both nodded and faced each other. "Alrighty then. Begin."

I decided to only jump back a few feet and watched as Ichigo started handsigns. Misumi went straight at him, but it was too late. The handsigns were completed and water began to expel from Ichigo's mouth. It immediately hit Misumi and he was thrown back a few feet. The water began to fill the arena and a good foot and a half pooled slightly in the middle like a puddle. I stood on top of the formed water and continued to keep my close distance.

Ichigo wasted no time and went to counter with what looked like a tanto. Hey, wasn't that Ren's tanto? Misumi got up just in time to dodge, but he grabbed Ichigo by the arm. What was he thinking? In a grotesque fashion, Misumi's body became like rubber and slipped up Ichigo's arm. The Konoha Nin wrapped himself around the Mist Nin and grabbed his neck, ready to break it. I was ready to step in if Misumi decided to really break his neck, but suddenly Misumi was left holding nothing. Thank Kami, it was a water clone.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken Technique." Misumi came out of the water, and it was clear to me that he used Hiding in the Water technique. I watched as water rose from the large pond on the floor and formed water shuriken that flew at Misumi. I watched as the Konoha Nin tried to get away, but was hit with a couple. Ichigo made handsigns and more shuriken formed and hovered above Misumi.

"I give," Misumi screamed, "I give."

"Misumi forfeits this battle, therefore Ichigo is the winner," I said as the shuriken fell back into the water. A second later the water was drained away from the arena. Misumi trembled as he jumped back up to his team, while Ichigo stayed behind. I mouthed good job to him and he smiled through his bandages. He jumped up a moment later and I realized that there were only two competitors left.

"Gaara and the other Hyuuga whose name escapes me." I knew his name was Neji, but I really didn't care for the bastard. He hated Hinata with a passion and therefore I hated him. The two boys jumped down and I gestured for them to move to the side. They looked at me curiously and I got a little perturbed, "I need to get rid of the moisture on the floor. Therefore move your asses so you won't get burned."

I watched as the boys jumped away and I began to breathe in deeply. Soon blue fire covered my entire body and I pushed it to the floor. The entire arena was blue for a couple of seconds. It was weird seeing the fire in an enclosed space. It made the whole place feel somewhat romantic or maybe to others utterly menacing. After a few moments, I felt the ground with my hand and called the fire back into me. The floor was now completely dry and I called the boys back. They stood across from each other. I rose my hand and looked between them.

"Begin," I yawned out. This whole adult stuff was major business. So fucking tiring! Jumping a few feet back I felt a knot grow in my stomach. If Gaara is anything like me, he has extreme bloodlust. Most likely this will be the match I have to stop.

Neji went at Gaara and I cringed internally. He isn't going to get past his defense. The only way that I was able to was because I could teleport. You have to have extreme speed. As Neji went to punch Gaara's face, the sand blocked. Neji redirected with a kick and again the sand shielded Gaara. A wave of sand loomed over Neji's head and he jumped back a couple of feet. Activating his Byakugan, he attempted to attack Gaara. All his attempts were thwarted by the sand and I knew that this matchup wasn't the best. Neji has to at least make some contact for his gentle fist to interrupt the chakra flow, but with Gaara's protection he isn't going to get him at all. If Neji was super-fast, he could possibly hit him. But his speed wasn't anything like Lee's. He was good, but not that good.

"That isn't going to work. Gaara's ultimate defense can't be penetrated. That's why he has never been injured on a mission," Sandy said cockily. I laughed at him and watched Neji try again and again to get to Gaara.

"He has. Only once has he ever been injured on a mission," I replied from my spot below Sandy. His eyes widened in what could only be described as shock. No one but the person who had injured him, would have known he was injured. I was that person. The siblings knew, but they never told anyone that they had met an ANBU in the desert. Sandy probably only saw that Gaara came back injured and they most likely lied and said he did it to himself or something. Smart kids.

Neji worked tirelessly to get through the defense, but I knew it was futile. Suddenly Neji jumped back as he made the position for his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four palms. He started the attack, but I knew he made a terrible mistake. With this move he will be closer and the sand will encase him completely. Watching, my presumptions were made true. In a second Neji was encased in sand. I could hear his struggling, and I watch as Gaara stuck out his hand. Teleporting immediately inside the sand, I got Neji and teleported out. Neji was hacking away, having the pain of his first teleportation.

"By my choice I end this battle and declare Gaara the winner." Gaara glared at me murderously. The sand immediately went at me, but I teleported behind him and swung with not much enthusiasm. It was merely a ploy for the sand to be distracted. Once the sand came up, I teleported within the boundary and punched Gaara twenty feet into the farthest wall.

"Do not attack your proctor. It's bad manners," I said darkly. The tense air was back and I looked up to Sandy. He immediately jumped down and went to Gaara. Gaara laid in the wall, disoriented. Medical Nin came to get Neji, but he was okay.

"Are you going to disqualify him?" Sandy asked. I shook my head and turned away. Gathering myself, I went back to my statue and stood under it.

"Can all of those who passed this round please come up with your Senseis," a group of kids gathered in front of me and I started to slow clap again. "Congratulations to Kurenai and your students Hinata and Shino, Asuma and your student Shikamaru, Patchy and your students Ichigo and Ren, Bushy-Brow senior and mini Bushy-Brow, and lastly Sandy and your students Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro. Now I'm going to give you each a marble."

I quickly took out a bag of marbles from my sealing scroll. Smirking at everyone, I handed one to each winner. Of course, Kankuro and Shino were kinda in the infirmary right now so I gave one to Kurenai and Sandy.

"Now each marble has a number on it, either one through five. There are two of each except for five. The fifth person gets a pass for the first round in the tournament. Now tell me your numbers and I'll tell you who you're against." I listened to all of their numbers and wrote them down in my pad to give to the old man. "So we have, Ren versus Hinata. Then it's Ichigo versus Shino. Lee will be taking on Gaara. And lastly, will be Temari versus Kankuro. Lazy ass Shikamaru will get a pass."

"Is that the order we're going in?" asked Temari. I nodded and noticed her youngest brother was glaring at me. He suddenly clutched his head and I turned my vision back to Temari. She looked concerned and her eyes almost pleaded with me to save her.

"Alright. That concludes the preliminaries. You will have one month to prepare for your match, so work hard. Again Congrats!" I said happily. All the ninja scurried away except for Sandy and his kids. I looked at them moodily. "What do you want?"

"Do you, uhh, have any more of those tags?" Temari asked. Sandy looked uncomfortable and I wondered if he knew what she was referring to. Looking at Gaara, I noticed the killer intent went up by ten notches. The boy charged at me and I teleported on top of the statue. He really needs some blood. I could go for some too, but I don't really want his. Taking the seal out of my pouch, Gaara punched me off the statue. I fell to the ground and skidded a few feet.

"Shit that hurt. I haven't been hit like that in a long time." I rolled my neck and noticed Gaara's arm was changing into sand. Quickly teleporting in front of him then switching to each side, I made it past his barrier. Punching him and placing the seal at the same time, I backed away.

"Did you get him?" Temari asked nervously.

"Oh yee of little faith," I remarked with a psychotic smile. Pumping chakra into the seal, I muttered, "Activate." Gaara immediately fell to the ground. The sand fell and I waited for the seal to be rejected. It wasn't, even though it was the second time he had been subjected to it.

"Thank you," Temari whispered to me. I looked at her with a serious look and took out a seal from my pouch. It was an extra I had packed if both I and Gaara had gotten out of hand.

"You need to get him some help. He can't control the demon, or rather he doesn't even try. Now I don't care if he wants to be powerful and shit, but he can't just let his demon run rampant. Consequences will be made if he can't control himself. It isn't a good life to live and he has a chance to change it," I lectured Temari. She nodded but looked more frightened than anything. I couldn't tell what her relationship with her brother was truly like, but it wasn't good.

"He accepts it," she muttered.

"Well," I drawled, "if he lets it out when I'm here, I'm going to have to put him down. I'll fucking kill him. Demons aren't meant to roam free. They're just something inside for you to fucking have just in case."

Temari looked shocked at my half confession. I think this was the point where it finally clicked why I had seals to hold demons, why I told her brother he wasn't the only monster around here, and why I hate the idea of demons in general. She gaped at me and I watched as Sandy went to Gaara and picked up his comatose body. He looked relieved and I could feel the Hokage's crystal ball zoom in on my expression. I gave a psychotic smile while turning to Temari.

"I don't get paid enough for this shit," I told her as I teleported home. It was time to finally take a shower. I mean, I still had blood in my hair.

* * *

"_Well I should go check with the old man if he got the list of matches for the finals," _I told the wolves mentally. Clean and with new clothes, black muscle shirt with leggings and a long red skirt with a slit in the side, I grabbed my ROOT jacket and put it on. Stopping on the couch in the living room, I plopped down. The wolves were inside, having been too tired from our hunting the night before to stay out.

"_You know he was watching. We felt his creepy crystal ball eyes on us. What is the real reason you gotta __go__ see him?"_ Arawn asked. I stayed quiet, not really knowing the real reason. My bloodlust was still ringing in my ears and I felt my emotions threatening to overflow.

"_You want to see how he reacts to us. We have hunted and killed and have appeared to him stained with blood. You still are fearful that he will banish us,"_ Soubi said, muddling through my thoughts. It was amazing how he could figure what I wanted before it even reached me.

"_I think he shouldn't trust us also. I am going to tell him that. Maybe we should leave for a bit. We need to go visit our family. The boys should leave and train. They can't stay here with Sakura's death looming over their heads." _

"_What about your lover?"_ Arawn asked chuckling. I groaned from my position on the couch. I sprawled myself out and was beginning to wonder what I was going to do with Sai. If I was going to get kicked out, I don't want him to follow me. He has to stay here. After all, this was his home. I couldn't make or even let him go with me. He could die and I wouldn't be able to live with that guilt.

"_He should stay here. I don't need him to get hurt,"_ I replied.

"_But you had told him that you wouldn't leave him,"_ Soubi reminded me

"_That was before I got worse. You have to admit that we're cracking. Our mask is falling from our faces, and people are seeing that we are truly the monster. We have to do what's best for him if something happens."_ I was quiet for a while, my mind musing and rolling in emotions. The emotions swirled and my bloodlust rose up. Getting up from the couch, I let the wolves out in wolf mode. "_We better get going to the old man. It's already dark and the boys should be released from that asylum tomorrow."_

"_Alright. If you get out of control, we should leave. Your seals have been threatening to break all week and we can't let you transform fully,"_ Soubi warned, looking towards me. I nodded and teleported to the old man's office. There was only him there, and no objects were actually flung at me. Feeling something at my feet, I looked down to see an explosive seal.

"You've graduated to deadly seals. I hope this isn't a suicide seal, because if it's too large of a boom, you'll die with me," I yawned and crossed in front of his desk and went to the couch that I put in the office. The old man sat in his chair with his pipe hanging from his mouth. He looked more tired than normal and I wondered if he was sick. Looking at him with one eye through my bangs, I wrung my hands in a nervous fashion.

"Morrigan, what are you here for?" he asked, giving a tired half-smile. He laid the pipe on the desk and fiddled with the papers on his desk. He was nervous also. I sat up on the couch and looked at him.

"Why did you let me in here? I was and still am an S-ranked bounty hunter, who can kill almost any shinobi in this village if I so choose to. I am also a terrible person. I like to kill people more than is acceptable for even the psychopaths out here. Then we both know that I shouldn't be with people because I'm a monster," I told him. He looked at me with that same small smile.

"I kept you here because I saw that you needed us. I saw something special in you and I knew that you only needed the chance to change," he replied softly. His voice was so soft it was almost like he was doubting himself.

"NO. You are the leader of this village and should have never let me in!" I yelled. My fangs came down and my eyes began to see clearer. They were glowing brightly as I continued my speech, "You saw me covered in blood! I stunk of it! Kakashi and Jiraiya already told you that there is something wrong with me. Why am I still here? Why would you ever keep me? You don't owe me anything, so you should never want to help me from the fucking goodness of your heart."

"Marusame," he muttered under his breath. My body stilled and immediately my fangs receded. My eyes stayed yellowed, but I stopped breathing. The wolves returned back into me. They were too scared of what could possibly come about from this.

"What did you say?" I hissed. I rose and went to bang on his desk. My hands were bloody from my seals and I laid them on his paper-filled desk. The old man looked into my eyes with sorrow.

"Marusame."

"Explain, right now. And I swear if you lie to me, I will kill everyone in this village. My bloodlust is incorrigible due to my emotions being so uncontrollable," I said darkly. The fangs were back, my hands were bleeding even more and the blood began to pool on the desk.

"Your name shouldn't be Morrigan. It should be Keiko Marusame. You were born almost thirteen years ago in the Village of Death. You would have been the clan heiress. Though I can't see how you aren't there now. But judging by the scar you have on your face, I think that it has to do with the Okinawa clan." The old man stared at me with a look of sympathy. This is insane. How the hell did he know all this?

"How?" I asked darkly. My mood was still threatening my complete demon transformation. This might be the straw that breaks my back.

"When I was very young, maybe just turned into a Chunin, I had to venture into the Valley of Shadows on an escort mission. There were two other people on my squad, one of which died on the mission and the other hates me." The old man paused for a second and sighed heavily. I wondered if that other one was Danzo. He's the only one who I know outright hates the old man and makes it a point to let him know. "When we were there, we were attacked by demons. I actually thought that I would die in that damned valley. But there, we were found and saved by a patrol of your village. During that time, it must have been your grandfather who we had met."

"You seriously went into the Valley of Death on an escort mission? Who the fuck did you escort?" I asked suspiciously. I had no doubt that the clan head he would have met would have been my grandfather. My dad wasn't born yet or even was barely a newborn.

"We had to take the bride of the Okinawa clan head. He sent his son to get her, but she didn't feel safe going down there without a squad." I nodded my head. There had always been a rumor of one team who had survived coming into the Valley and then leaving. "Your grandfather saved us, and therefore I was indebted to your family. I am still repaying that debt. Keeping you here and giving you a full life, no matter the reason why you left your village, is what I plan on doing."

"I didn't leave. I was kicked out," I snarled. "I'm not just some spoiled brat who decided to live on her own. It wasn't my choice."

"What happened?" he asked. His eyes pleaded with me to say the truth, but my heart closed to him. He didn't need to know what happened. Only Sai knew the truth of what happened to my family. Only he needs to know.

"I don't want to tell you," I said quietly. The rage from before was replaced with a sinking fear. Somehow the rage was quelled, but the bloodlust still rang out like a bell. I was still confused why he let me stay here. Just because he was indebted to my family, that didn't make it alright. I was still dangerous. "How did you know my first name?"

"I heard it about ten years ago, from someone in the Village who decided to leave. He said that the leaders couldn't have children, but then you came along. You were called 'blessing' or Keiko." I nodded in understanding. Somehow this was all too perfect and I began to doubt if he actually knew who I was. I looked to the old man and saw his eyes. They were truthful and I sighed. We would have to have another conversation about this, mainly why he kept me when he knew I had a monster inside me.

"I'm going to have Kakashi and Jiraiya take the boys to train until the finals. They shouldn't be here right now. Sakura's death is too fresh in their minds. I know that if they go all together Jiraiya and Kakashi can keep them both safe," I told the old man, drawing my bloody hands closer to my body.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, handing me a towel from one of the drawers. I took it gratefully and sopped up all of the blood.

"I need to get out of here also. My bloodlust, as you can see, is taking control. I have to get out of here before I lose it," I replied, handing the towel back to him. He shook his head and I brought it back.

"And Sai? I heard that you have gotten pretty close lately."

"I don't know if I should send him with the boys or leave him here with you. Just so you know, I'm gonna head to Mist and bounty hunt until the finals. Get that other guy, who was going to proctor the third part to do the finals. I might be a little late. It all depends if I can satisfy my bloodlust during that time. I might need to kill a lot of people to control myself. I don't want to take Sai with me, because what if he gets hurt? I know he's good, but these guys have large bounties on their heads for a reason," I replied. I was lying about going to Mist and Sai being in danger. I merely wanted to head back to World C, but couldn't tell the old man I was planning on going to a different dimension.

"He should go with you. I don't think that he will like the idea of you going alone," the old man replied with a tired smirk. Was he sick? Maybe he hasn't slept because of Orochimaru. I had offered to kill him, so the old man must just be waiting until the point of no return. He still loved his student.

"I don't care what he likes or not. It's dangerous," I told him harshly.

"Well, I'll leave it up to Sai. I won't be able to keep him away from you if you leave. He'll just end up disobeying orders," the old man reached for his pipe and lit it. This conversation is officially over.

"Whatever. I'm telling you he's not going," I said teleporting away. Ending up in the hospital room, all the boys were asleep. Next to Sasuke was Kakashi in a chair, while Jiraiya sat next to Naruto. I'll tell them in the morning about everyone leaving. Going next to Sai's bed, I left the towel on the nightstand. I grabbed the chair and sat down with a heavy plop. Leaning my head back, I immediately fell asleep.

* * *

"What is wrong with her? I heard from Hokage-sama that she showed up at the exam reeking of blood and now here's a blood-soaked towel. Something is definitely not right about her," a voice yelled. The voice was familiar and I forced myself to wake up.

"Leave her alone Jiraiya," said a younger voice. Must have been Sasuke because he doesn't use honorifics.

"Just shut the fuck up," I muttered back with my eyes still closed.

"Morrigan, wake up." That was Kakashi. I opened my eyes and lifted my head. Feeling a crick in my neck, I immediately rubbed it and peered around the room. Everyone's eyes were on me. Sai's hand reached out and grabbed my hand with his.

"Are you going to tell us what's wrong with you?" This time it was Naruto. He peered through his bandages from across the room. His voice was cracking like he was scared of what I would say.

"Remember," I started, "the first time that you kept calling me and I couldn't hear. I told you it just happens sometimes. This is one of those things that just happens to me. I can't fix it, no one can."

"But what exactly is wrong with you?" Jiraiya blurted out. I looked at him with an annoyed look. Sai began to trace circles with his thumb on my hand. I could feel my fangs trying to come down, but Sai kept them at bay. I wouldn't answer their questions. They weren't people I wanted to tell my secrets to. Therefore, it's time to change the subject.

"I think you and Kakashi should take the boys out of town. Just until the finals. I already told the Hokage and he agreed. I'm leaving for a little while also," I told them. Sai's hand immediately stopped when I said I was leaving. Jiraiya looked at me surprised, but turned to Sai with an expectant look. Naruto and Sasuke looked at me with wide eyes, pleading with me not to leave forever. Kakashi kept his neutral face that has graced his masked features since I lost it in front of him.

"Where are you going to go?" Sai asked, his hand clutching mine tighter.

"I'm not going to be gone for a long time, only a month. I might be back for the finals, but I don't know. I need to get this under control," I replied. Sai's face grew panicked and his eyes grew wide. I tried to smile reassuringly but somehow with his desperate look, it was halfhearted.

"I'm coming with you."

"That is not an option."

"I'm not asking."

"No, but I'm telling you. You're not coming with me."

"You will not be leaving here without me," he said with a threatening voice. His hand was crushing my wrist, but I jerked it out of his hand. Getting up and glaring from the foot of his bed I snarled. My fangs were back down, but only for intimidation purposes.

"Watch me."

"You aren't leaving without me." I turned to Naruto and Sasuke. Going to Naruto first I ruffled his hair. He exchanged a desperate look with Sasuke. I turned to the dark haired boy and ruffled his hair also. Giving them both a maternal smile, I thought of the right things to say. Sai's rage could be felt at my back.

"There's leftovers in the fridge for you guys to eat tonight. I expect all of you to leave here tomorrow morning to train." I took a reverse summoning ring from my index finger and handed it to Sasuke. Sasuke had a puzzled look on his face. I smiled at the young boy with my fangs and he flinched. But even through his slight fear, he smiled a small smile back at me. He knew I wasn't leaving forever. He only had to call me and I would come. Turning back to Sai, who was still enraged, I snarled. "You, don't follow me or try to find me. You won't be able to. Call me if you need me. You know how."

"Don't you dare," Sai yelled. I looked at him with a blank look. He was enraged and yelled again, "I won't allow you to leave."

"You can't tell me what to do. You don't **own** me," I retorted with a snarl. My fangs hung out of my mouth and I'm sure I looked like a true monster.

"You are mine," he yelled back at me. My angry glare faltered for a second and I turned away.

"Yes, but I need to fix myself right now. You don't need to see me like that," I replied. Sai was trying to get up from the bed, still enraged with my decision. I gave him a sympathetic smile and mouthed, 'I will return'. Teleporting myself to Oregon, I felt the familiar pain of going through to a different dimension. Ending up in the kitchen, daggers were flung at my head.

"What the fuck are you doing here Morrigan?" Lily asked surprised.

"I needed to come home," I replied, feeling tears come to my eyes. The full reality of everything hit me. Sakura was dead because I couldn't protect her. Then Sai is in love with me, but surely hates me right now. Kakashi and Jiraiya no longer trust me. The boys will be angry that I left. The old man is probably going to kick me out soon. Plus, my demon is going to come out.

"Oh, come here baby. You can stay as long as you need to," Lily replied taking me into her arms. I needed this reassuring hold, but somehow it didn't feel right. Lily was always my mother figure so this should be comforting me. But it wasn't. These arms weren't the ones I wanted. Being in Lily's arms, they weren't having the same comforting feel. In fact, I wanted nothing but to push her off of me. What did I want then? My body ached to feel that safe and warm feeling, but I didn't know why it couldn't just be Lily who comforted me. Isn't it all the same? Obviously not, because she isn't what I need right now.

Realizing I wanted someone different, I pushed her away and went outside. She let me go and I watched the wind blow through the trees. Reflectively smelling the air, I missed the comforting smell of ink. The person I wanted to hold and comfort me wasn't here. Sai was the one I wanted to trace circles on my skin. Sai was the one I wanted to wrap me up and squeeze me. Sai was the only scent I wanted right now. I just wanted him. I began to cry harder when I realized I left him, angry and hurt. I realized I regretted leaving him. This wasn't what I wanted. The cold hard reality hit me soon after: I would never feel right without Sai and I would never be complete without him.

_"You can go back,"_ Soubi offered. I continued to cry, the tears falling down my chin. I can't go on without him. But he was surely going to be angry with me. I'm going to have to tell him the truth about me if I bring him here. Would it really be worth it? Yes. I can't live without him.

Feeling for Sai with my seal I tried to calm myself. It wasn't working. I wouldn't get calm unless I'm with him. Pulling on the connection, I could feel his anger, sadness, despair. Pulling harder, I opened the black hole on the ground. Sai was at the house, standing in the middle of my room. Running through the hole, I ran straight into Sai. He immediately caught me.

"Morrigan. You came back. I thought I lost you," Sai muttered ad he wrapped me up in his arms. I began to cry even harder, my vision being clouded through tears. This was just too much. Sai crushed me to him, possibly in an effort to make sure I was here.

"I'm sorry. I thought you would be better without me. You would be better without me, so I tried to leave you alone. But I can't let you go. I need you, and I can't ever live without you. I'm so sorry." I hugged Sai back, finally calming myself.

"You don't have to live without me. I'm yours and you are mine. Don't ever leave me again. I, also, can never live without you."

"Do you want to go home with me? I can't stay here, but I can't leave-"

"I will follow you anywhere," Sai replied. I nuzzled my face into Sai's chest. Closing my eyes, I finally stopped the tears.

"There are many things I have to tell you, but I promise to answer them before we return. Is that okay?" I asked him a little unsure.

"You can tell me when you're ready. I will go pack then we can leave," Sai replied. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled into his chest. I hugged him tighter before letting him go. Sai smiled at me and reached a hand to brush my bangs back. Touching my mask, he removed the wet item. I blushed brightly at his actions. He handed me the mask before going into his room to grab some things.

I went around my own room and packed some clothes. Grabbing my violin I stuffed all the scrolls and my mask into a small satchel. Grabbing a scroll and some ink, I decided to write a note for the boys. Going into the living room, I left the note on the dining room table. Sai came out of his room a moment later and gave me that serious look he gives me that makes me turn bright red. He crossed the room and grabbed my bag for me. Holding both bags in his left hand he stretched his right hand out to me. I took his hand in mine and blushed again.

"This might hurt a little more than normal. Just so you know, my adoptive family is a little weird. Like other world weird that you couldn't imagine to understand. This whole trip is going to be a very different experience. Just know that, if you need to leave me, I'll understand. But know that I will always be yours even if you aren't mine," I told Sai softly.

"I will always be yours. You won't ever be alone. I will always be right here." Sai moved his body closer to me and once again kissed the top of my head. I sighed happily, all the negative feelings gone. The only thing that mattered right now was me getting better and Sai. I teleported to Oregon and ended up in the middle of the cabin. Sai held my hand, squeezing it tightly through the pain, but got over it in a few moments.

"Who the fuck is that? And why the fuck is he holding your hand?" screamed the very familiar voice of Lily. I sighed and squeezed Sai's hand reassuringly. I can't live without him, so, let the bullshitting and explaining begin.

* * *

_**Hey everybody. Just wanted to say, thank you to the new reviewer. You know who you are, (lol, don't want to point you out for everyone to see. even though they could find out if they really wanted to). I have to say that I kinda wished I could have made this story whole, and posted every chapter like in a week. Cause you can see where I should have changed things. I know that my character seems a little young and in the beginning I tried to fix it, but I can't just redo everything. I have too much homework for that. Anyways, thanks for everyone who supports the story. Remember to comment, follow, fave, obsess. I can take criticism, so come at me bro. (lol, sometimes I laugh at my own jokes.)**_


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